Palo Alto police find stolen car's owner - 31 years after theft

Mercury News ^ | 6/21/06 | Leslie Griffy

[Battle Hymn of the Republic]

A car stolen from Palo Alto 31 years ago is headed back to its rightful owner.

The 1956 Ford T-Bird - just like the car the blond cruises in during the movie "American Graffiti" - was located in Southern California this week.

[gorush]

Sweet. (Except for the lady from SoCal that bought it of course)

[AnotherUnixGeek]

The 1956 Ford T-Bird - just like the car the blond cruises in during the movie "American Graffiti" - was located in Southern California this week.

The California Highway Patrol reports it is still in cherry condition.

Nice. Wonder how much those things are worth at auction.

[Michael.SF.]

If the insurance company paid off the policy, it seems they would have first claim.

[Uncle Hal]

My wife used to work in San Francisco. A gal she worked with had her purse stolen from the office. Construction workers found it 10 years later in a nearby building when they were doing remodeling. The robber had put the purse in a drop sealing by pushing up the tile and throwing it in. Luckily she still worked at the same office and her business card was in the wallet. The money of course was gone.

[Dinsdale]

The insurance company should get back any money they paid plus reasonable interest.

They should not get the car (which will be worth much more).

[HEY4QDEMS]

>>>>It landed in the CHP’s hands after a Southern California woman bought it from a seller in Ohio.

She went to a CHP office to get help finding the vehicle identification number so that she could register the car in California<<<<

I’m happy for the owner but it sure sucks to be the poor woman who bought it.

[TYVets]

Call 911 and wait!

[HEY4QDEMS]

I think you meant to write “ceiling”.

[GregoTX]

A couple years back I recovered a Harley Davidson Motorcycle that had been stolen back in 1971 (well, recovered most of it). Same situation as here, the complainant wanted it back, but he was not longer the owner, his insurance company was. That Insurance Company went out of business a long time ago, and not company responsible for its holdings could be located. After almost a year passed, a property hearing was held and the Judge awarded to a fellow that had paid money for it a year before I seized it.

[Michael.SF.]

The owner should have first right of refusal under your guidelines (pay out price + interest), if he is not in a position to buy back the car under those terms, then the insurance company gets it and could sell at any price.

[Squantos]

Sounds like a fair decision by all involved......... I thought this thread was gonna reveal it was the car in the time capsule in Tulsa !

[newheart]

It landed in the CHP's hands after a Southern California woman bought it from a seller in Ohio.

Suzanne Somers shopping for a souvenir?

[Vn_survivor_67-68]

some pics of a ‘56 Bird

http://www.legendarymotorcar.com/inventory/217col.htm

[blam]

[free_for_now]

He probably only had liability insurance at the time. I know that collision and theft insurance often didn’t make sense back then since the company would only pay blue book value for a 15 year old car. To insure a show car for theft was much more expensive and I bet a 23-year old wouldn’t take out that kind of policy.