Classic car found by police 7 months after theft

INDIANAPOLIS - Police say investigators have found a Michigan man's restored 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle worth more than $100,000 that was stolen during a fall trip to Indianapolis for a classic car show.

Police say the car's owner, Keith Parmer, of Holt, Mich., received a call last month from a man who said he had purchased the Chevelle, but would return it to him for $20,000 to cover his investment.

Sgt. Rich Myers of the Indiana State Police says undercover detectives arranged a meeting with the man in an Indianapolis suburb to discuss the deal and took him in for questioning. The 31-year-old Indianapolis man was arrested Friday on charges of receiving stolen property and auto theft.

The 48-year-old Parmer said he fell in love with muscle cars while growing up. He bought the Chevelle for less than $20,000 in 2008, and estimates he spent $300,000 on parts and labor to restore and upgrade it.

It was stolen from his box trailer parked outside a motel last September.

"It's like a bad dream. It's comparable to someone close to me dying," Parmer told The Indianapolis Star when the car was taken in September.

Myers said the Chevelle was recovered intact.