Posted on 12/29/2020 12:00:26 PM PST by Red Badger
Virginia man Tommy Cook was reunited with his 1969 Camaro when he spotted it in a Maryland garage 17 years after it was stolen. Cook said the vehicle had been painted green and given a fraudulent VIN to disguise it
Dec. 28 (UPI) -- A Virginia man whose 1969 Camaro was stolen 17 years ago was reunited with the vehicle after spotting it in a garage while helping a friend buy another vehicle.
Tommy Cook said the Hugger Orange Camaro was stolen from his auto repair lot in Woodbridge in 2003, and after reporting it stolen he kept renewing the vehicle's missing status with Prince William County police through the mail in the ensuing years.
"I never wrote that car off," Cook told The Free Lance-Star newspaper. "I knew there would be a day and a time when I would get that car back. I didn't know where, but I knew it was out there somewhere."
Cook said he had no leads until 17 years later, when a friend considering the purchase of a 1968 Camaro asked him to take a look at a vehicle listed for sale online by a Maryland man near La Plata.
Cook said he arrived at the auto shop to look at the 1968 Camaro, but his attention was grabbed by a hoodless 1969 Camaro in the corner of the garage.
The man told Cook the green car had originally been painted Hugger Orange, the color of his stolen car. Cook said he took a look at the dashboard VIN and thought it seemed suspicious, so he checked the VIN in another spot under the hood -- and it matched his missing car.
The Charles County Sheriff's Office in Maryland had the Camaro towed to a storage lot, and Cook then had it towed to his new shop in Spotsylvania.
Cook said the car has received some upgrades since he last owned it -- including an engine being installed in the formerly-engineless vehicle. He said the car had apparently changed hands four times since it was stolen in 2003.
"Some people had put money into it," Cook said. "It was better than it was when it was stolen, but it's still an ugly green."
Police in France solved a missing vehicle case after an even longer amount of time had elapsed in 2017. Chalons-en-Champagne police said a property owner called authorities to report a muddy pond had receded amid drought conditions, revealing a the top of a Peugeot 104 buried in the muck.
Police determined the car had been reported stolen from its third owner in 1979 -- 38 years before it was found in the swamp.
The car had four intervening owners. If the current owner bought it for full value without actual or constructive notice that it had previously been stolen, the car should belong to the current owner and not sent back to Cook unless Cook bought it from him.
I’m thinking that Peugeot was a case of insurance fraud... cuz who the heck would steal a Peugeot?
Hopefully it is traced back to the scum bag who stole it in the first place.
When I was in high school I used to drive a 1986 Dodge Omni. I never worried about anyone stealing it.
Who’d even want to ‘drive’ one of this POSs?
There was a story a few years back that a man and his teenaged son rebuilt and restored a 60’s Mustang to like new condition, but when they went to have it registered found that it had been stolen like 30 years previous. The police impounded the car and it was returned to its original owner, since it was reported as stolen and there was no insurance claim against it. Had there been an insurance claim, it would belong to the insurance company..............................
A drunk Frenchman..................
Stolen is stolen. The original owner is not responsible for the DMV not properly vetting the provenance of the vehicle through the chain of ownership, and he kept the fact it was a stolen vehicle on the police blotter. So yes, he DOES deserve to get his property back.
Peugeot 104... just looked it up.......... Looks like a Yugo.............
What’s the legal recourse for the poor slob that payed top $$$$ for a vintage Mustang like you said. He could have paid $20-$50k but now is left without anything? THAT would seem like robbery!!!!
My Mom never did recover her 1967 Red Mustang that was stolen from the Dedham Mall Parking lot while she was shopping for curtains.
Possibly, then he sobered up and drove it into the swamp like a sane person.
What year did that happen?
LOL!......................
Early 70’s. I can’t remember the exact year.
Bummer. It’s probably out there somewhere, unless it got totalled in a wreck.
Happens a lot.
High end marketeers like Sotheby’s, Barret-Jackson, et al, go to great lengths to verify ownership AND PROVENANCE. If there are any ‘holes’ in the history, NO SALE.
As ALWAYS: CAVEAT EMPTOR................
You are WRONG !!!
That Vehicle IS STOLEN PROPERTY.
Tommy Cook is the rightful owner of the Camero.
One of the VIN Locations had been altered. I was Sold 4 times. The Title has to be Traced backwards and hopefully they will find the scumbag that Stole it and any Accomplices that were involved in the fraudulent alteration of the VIN.
As far as the purchasers down the line they were all combined victims of fraud.
Tommy is the rightful owner.
Everyone else got screwed by the thief/thieves. Hopefully the Investigation will be able to find the scumbag and the other “owner’s” can get the money back from the perp.
What year was it stolen?...............
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