A day after his unprecedented police funeral, pins commemorating Sgt. Ryan Russell have proven so popular that it's nearly impossible to get your hands on one.

Imprinted with "7686," Russell's badge number, the pins began appearing Tuesday at his funeral, which was attended by thousands of officers from the GTA and beyond.

The Guns and Gangs Task Force created 1,500 of them which, at $10 apiece, quickly sold out.

They are designed as a way for people to remember Russell while raising money for a trust fund for his 2-year-old son, Nolan.

Officers around the city were seen wearing them on Wednesday, including Const. Matt Dodd.

"It's a bit of an honour to wear the pin, knowing the type of guy that he was," Dodd said.

But police say the commemorative pins aren't currently available for sale to the public, although there has been plenty of interest.

A new batch of them has been ordered, but it has already been spoken for by emergency services personnel.

It's not clear whether members of the public will be able to purchase the coveted pins in future.

Investigation continues

Meanwhile, investigators are trying to piece together the whereabouts of the man accused of driving the snowplow that took Russell's life in the hours leading up to the fatal collision last week.

Police are seeking help from the public in their investigation, as they work to gather information about Richard Kachkar.

"Sometimes something that seems insignificant can be very important to us, can help us try to figure out what happened," said Det. Sgt. Dan Nielsen.

Police believe the 44-year-old St. Catharines, Ont. native may have visited the home of his estranged wife there on Jan. 6.

"He was there for a short period of time. He did not go inside," Nielsen said.

A short time later he purchased a bus ticket to Toronto. But it's not clear how he spent the next five days leading up to Jan. 11, when he arrived at Good Shepherd Mission in Toronto.

At around 3 a.m. the following morning, Kachkar is believed to have left the homeless shelter barefoot. At around 5:20 a.m. police allege that he stole an idling snowplow, driving it into Russell shortly after 6 a.m.

It's also unclear where Kachkar spent much of his time between leaving the shelter and allegedly driving off in the plow in the early hours of Jan. 12.

With reports from CTV's Austin Delaney and Tamara Cherry