PALO ALTO, Calif., June 23, 2007
Stolen '56 T-Bird Found, 31 Years Later
Owner To Be Reunited With Classic Car Stolen In 1976 After Being Located By eBay Purchaser
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California Highway Patrol Officer Christopher Throgmorton stands next to a 1956 Ford Thunderbird on June 19, 2007, in Moorpark, Calif.. The car, reported stolen in Palo Alto, Calif. 31 years ago, was returned by a resident who recently purchased the car on eBay and later learned it had been stolen. (AP / Redmond, Ventura County Star)
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But the 59-year-old car aficionado will soon be reunited with the classic car he treasured as a young man after police called Thursday and told him the T-bird had been found in Southern California.
"I was very shocked," said Leung, a retired sheriff's deputy who runs a car-rental business in Milpitas. "After 31 years, I thought that car was long-gone history, like the Roman Empire."
The California Highway Patrol recovered the collectible — still in excellent condition — after a Ventura County woman tried to register it after buying the car on eBay from an Ohio seller. She contacted the CHP because the vehicle identification number listed on the car's title didn't exist in the California Department of Motor Vehicles registry.
CHP Officer Christopher Throgmorton located the true VIN and ran it through a CHP database that identified it as a stolen car from Palo Alto. Leung plans to fly to Southern California to pick it up next week.
"It's in really good condition," Throgmorton said. "It looks like somebody had it refurbished. It's been restored."
Since the Thunderbird disappeared, Leung fathered two kids and retired from a two-decade career in law enforcement. He had bought the collectible in 1974 for about $1,500 and carefully restored it.
"I belong to a car club, and every time I look at a Thunderbird, I go, 'Oh, I had one of those!'" he said. "I have one son who's 30 and a daughter who's 26. It's unbelievable, that car is older in theft than they are in age."
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- That is what I thought about right away was all the money this woman is out. They can track the car through its owners but I bet they'll never find the thief. Did she not bother to research the paperwork before making the purchase? That would have ben the first thing I would do...get the VIN and make sure the paperwork was all legal.
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- Great story.
Now let's see if they can locate the thief.
And that woman will be out of the money she paid for the stolen property. LOL - Reply to this comment
