Oh, I forgot to add that when Doug sold the firearm in the parking lot, three months later it was stolen from that person when he left it in his unlocked pickup at Home Depot while just running in for a minute to pick up grass seed.
Law enforcement with a known serial number can request an E-trace from ATF that will provide the original FFL the firearm was shipped to from the wholesaler or manufacturer. This can take a couple of months in itself. The original FFL would have to provide John's paperwork to LE (Law...