Sucks for both of them

Wow. That is one crazy story for that car.

So now poor Judy will get nothing and has to give away her car since it was stolen goods.

No statute of limitations in this case I suppose?

Interesting story. Here's a similar one involving a GT350 for sale on E-bay: [www.sportscarmarket.com]

Reminds me of this story:
[www.cbsnews.com]

If he had insurance and if the insurance company paid for the loss, wouldn't the insurance company be the rightful owner now?

The 'Stang should now get to choose its owner. I mean. after 43 years it should be old enough to make its own decisions.

That's kinda like my father's aunt had her VW Beetle stolen. Eventually, she spotted the car on the street and the vehicle was in better shape than when she had it. Apparently, the thief has actually gone through the trouble of repairing the vehicle and what not. When the police showed up, the thief was trying to charge her for all the repairs he had done to her vehicle. Ah well, life is full of ironic twists like that no?

I wonder if its in good condition/what it would be worth? I'm thinking there are some tax consequences here... doubly so if he got reimbursed by his insurance company back in 1970.

"This is what happens, Larry! This is what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps!"

My dad purchased a 70' Sportster from Mile High Harley in Denver, but couldn't pick it up that day as it needed some work before he could have it...That night, someone broke the plate glass window at Mile High and tried to pull it out, they were unsuccessful, he had to wait another 2 weeks to get it...He had it for two years and he sold it to another guy in Denver...who shortly there after had it stolen from his garage...

1995 - The Police came to see may dad about returning the Harley they had found somewhere somehow...My Dad pointed them in the direction of they guy he sold it to 23 years earlier...although I'm not sure what happened after that...

@John_W_KCMO: That's what I was thinking when this was being reported on the local news in L.A. a day ot two ago. If it were insured against theft, the insurance company would own it.

my slant six dart would crush that mustang.

Similar thing one happened with my infant son. Another man claimed him as his own, so we ended up taking the case to the local prince who suggested we cut the baby in half and each have a piece. We totally agreed, and that's what these people should do!

If he has any honor he'll "sell" it to her for a dollar.

This happened with a couple of vetts over the years. People got cars back after decades...

One was in good condition but had a bogus vin (for a chevy sedan) placed on it - when owner #15 researched it he was able to trace it back to the stolen vin. The other was a former chop shop job that some Swede won on ebay from a legimate dealer but it was only realized to be a theft car when customs inspected it hard and found the vin.

@ash78: I went to Lebowski Fest in L.A. last year, and one of the better costumes IMO was a woman dressed as a stranger in the Alps.

@EndlessMike: I disagree. It's his car and he has a right to have it back. Her claim is against the dealer who sold it to her.

So how come she could renew the registration on the car for 38 years when the VIN number was in a database of stolen goods? Is her state's DMV software so lousy it doesn't double-check as a matter of course?

i bet she got laid more often in that car than he did

My dad sold his 88 5.0 Mustang to some dude in '96.

The next night the cops showed up at our house, happy to let us know that they'd found his stolen car. Dude hadn't yet registered it, and the combo of droptop red 5.0 and 20-something dude with non-matching reg probably had in cuffed in the back of a car somewhere.

They should both lap it at Laguna and whoever post the fastest lap gets to keep it.

This reminds me of the guy who got his Corvette back after 37 years. Still, you would wonder why it wouldn't pop up when the vehicle was being registered or had its registration renewed.

Seems to me that there's be some sort of statute of limitations on something like this. I'm not a lawyer and I don't understand much about the intricacies of the laws regarding grand theft auto, but it kinda reeks of urban legend to me. @Triborough: brings up a good point about registration and title.

I got a 1968 D-28 Martin guitar out there in the police data base. It's been gone since 1979 but it might come back some day! There's always hope. Although I did replace it with a '65 that turned out to be amazing.

Someone I know had their truck stolen and the police found it in Florida many years later, painted a nasty cream color but otherwise fine. The owner bought a truck identical to the stolen one shortly after the theft and now he has a truck in storage that's nearly identical to his black 1977 Ford, aside from the hideous cream colored paint.

dude, whoever stole my sweet GT Pro series bike in '85 is still on MY list.

Hopefully someone will find my fathers 76 Seville.... Stolen in Brooklyn in 88.

@Rust-MyEnemy: COTD nominee

@rgseidl: I thought I read on another article that the VIN was changed or tampered with, so it didn't show up correctly. But blaming the DMV seems like a better answer. Man, I can't stand them.