Posted on 11/17/2009 2:46:11 PM PST by mom4kittys
Michele Squires once owned the 1965 Volkswagen van that was found recently in a shipping container at a Southern California port -- 35 years after she had it stolen from a repair shop. She'd now like to buy it back. Squires told The Spokesman-Review that she was watching television news on Friday when a picture of a VW van popped up on the screen during a story about how customs agents on Oct. 19 discovered the vehicle in a shipping container headed for the Netherlands. The blue-and-white van looked to be in pristine condition, and could be worth more than $25,000. Customs officials ran the vehicle identification number and found it had been reported stolen from an upholstery shop in Spokane on July 12, 1974. Squires said she had taken the van to the shop to have a bed made in the back for camping. Squires, 58, is a lifelong Spokane-area resident who has worked at a Chinese restaurant for the past 30 years. In this undated photo provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, a 1965 Volkswagen van that was stolen 35 years ago from Spokane, Wash., is shown after it was recovered on Oct. 19, 2009, from a shipping container at the Port of Los Angeles bound for The Netherlands. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection / AP) Her memory of buying the van is a little hazy. She wrecked her previous car and received $600 in settlement, and used that toward the van, though she doesn't remember the price. She remembers having a lot of fun in the van, hauling friends from home to home for progressive dinners and on ski trips. "It was great in the snow," she said. "Lousy heater. I kind of fell in love with it."
(Excerpt) Read more at autos.aol.com ...
Looks like the car survived the years better than she did. (;-)
Unless I’m mistaken, the insurance company owns that vehicle. They assumed ownership of the vehicle when she got her check from them.
I would think the insurance company would auction the van to the highest bidder.
VW should buy it for their museum. It is in freaking mint condition. They should do a retro van like that.
In all fairness, she did say she wanted to BUY it back...it would be a great PR move for the insurance company to give it to her...ii a big show, of course!
OK, actually READ the article this time...but I stand by my comment even more emphatically! Allstate would get much more tha $25-50K worth of publicity if they gave it back to her. It would be in the headlines for days and the goodwill would be priceless. If I was with AllState PR, that’s what I would do.
If indeed there really is evidence to support the story’s assertion that she had the vehicle stolen from the repair shop, then there might need to be a felony fraud investigation as well.
What is a “progressive dinner”? I think in 1974, it would have been called a “liberal dinner”.
PROGRESSIVE dinners?
Is this a lefty thing?
Lots of peyote, bean sprouts and cocaine.
ha ha,
I think it is where you go to one house or restaurant for one course and then move on to the next house or restaurant for the next course/dessert etc...
35 years after the fact? For what purpose? The investigation costs will far surpass the value of the stupid van..........Sell it to her if she really wants to buy it!
Why do people have to complicate things more than they already are by ignoring logic and common sense and resulting to "legalise"?
Hey, cool, man, you mean I finally get to go home? , Groovy!
????
I suppose that the statute of limitations might have expired, but i cannot for the life of me understand why anyone would want to reward her crime, let alone the insurance company she apparently scammed. Can you enlighten me?
??? Where is the evidence she scammed anyone, especially the insurance company? Can you enlighten me?
And for what its worth, it ain't worth the time arguing..........There are more things to worry about. Sheesh!
Am I missing something? I didn’t read that the previous owber was a suspect?
Where are you getting this?
What crime? She took the van into a shop, it was stolen from the shop, she didn't steal it. Did you even read the article?
Did YOU read it?
* sigh *
What the F is a progressive dinner?
She had the van in a repair shop and it was stolen from that shop. She didn't arrange to have it stolen.
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