Report: Wife of Dolphins QB Tannehill left rifle in rental car

HILLSBORO BEACH, Fla. – A mom vacationing with her daughter in South Florida earlier this month got more than her rental agreement promised when she drove away with a Nissan Rogue—and an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, according to a Sun Sentinel report.

Upon discovering the rifle two days later in a bag behind the back seats, Judith Fleissig, 58, of Rochester, N.Y., called E-Z Rent-A-Car, who confirmed that the weapon did not come standard with the rental.

In fact, the Sun Sentinel reports the rifle had been left behind by model Lauren Tannehill, wife of Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who had previously rented the vehicle and exchanged it a few hours later, leaving behind one very dangerous piece of luggage.

“We got out of the car, we were kind of freaked out,” Fleissig recalls of the moment she and her daughter discovered the rifle on Jan. 6. “I didn’t want to touch it… I said, ‘I think I’m going to throw up.’”

At the recommendation of the rental company, Fleissig drove to the nearest police station in Hillsboro Beach and turned over the gun. Authorities concluded that the legally owned weapon was accidentally left behind.

“Though dangerous if it would have landed in the wrong hands, it’s not criminal,” Broward County sheriff’s spokeswoman Keyla Concepcion said. “They simply forgot it.”

According to the newspaper, the gun is legally registered to Ryan Tannehill, who has spoken in the past about his hunting experiences. Lauren Tannehill has posted pictures on social media sites showing the couple shooting guns together.

A spokesman for the Miami Dolphins said Wednesday that the Tannehills view this as a personal matter. It is unclear whether they have contacted Hillsboro Beach police about getting the rifle back.

Fleissig was unaware of the previous renter’s celebrity status.

“Miami Dolphins, yes, I’ve heard of them,” she said Wednesday. “But I’m not a football fan.”