No it would not take three days
Plus the computer’s events log should show who deleted the files. Frog march that person directly to jail, not passing “Go” and not collecting $200.
Depends on the medium it’s stored on and where it is being restored to. Tapes were still used back then. If it was not a geographically dispersed environment and hard disk arrays were being used...then no...not three days. Lots less by today’s current technology.