Stolen car found after 38 YEARS!!!

[blackGSX2g]

Wow, kinda restores my faith in humanity...she actually sought out the original owner and is returning it to him.

CityNews: Man Gets Back Car 38 Years After It Was Stolen

Eugene Brakke couldn't be happier about hearing that his stolen Mustang has been recovered and is coming back to him. There's just one thing you should know about that otherwise ordinary sounding statement - the car in question is a vintage 1965 model and it was taken from the L.A.-area resident way back in 1970.

Now, almost 40 years later, the long gone automobile has been located and he can't wait to drive it again. Where has it been and how was it located? Therein hangs an amazing tale that involves a woman who has had it all this time.

A month after the vehicle disappeared, Long Beach, California resident Judy Smongesky received it as a high school graduation gift from her father. He bought it from a used car dealer and didn't think much about it, as his child tooled around town in the iconic machine.

She loved the car so much, she lovingly restored it and maintained it for 38 years straight. But when she finally decided to sell it, a computer check turned up evidence that it had been stolen. Police in San Diego, where she now lives, confirmed the vehicle - though very old - was still very hot.

So she located and contacted the original owner to tell him his prized former possession was still in existence and in the hands of someone who took good care of it for him.

She now plans to give it back to Brakke. "It's his car, even though he had it for four years and I had it for 38," she explains.

Still, he won't exactly be getting back the original merchandise. Smongesky had the engine rebuilt twice and put some 300,000 miles on it. She also changed the vintage Mustang from its original gold colour to silver-blue. "He wasn't too happy with that," she deadpans.

The two plan to meet up soon as one prepares to say goodbye to an old friend and another gets ready for a reunion with a cherished memento of a youth long passed that he never thought he'd see again.

Smongesky knows it will be a bittersweet moment. "It was the right thing to do," she reflects about calling Brakke with the news. "I haven't really cried yet, but when he drives it away, I think I'll fall apart."

Fortunately for him, she didn't let the car suffer the same fate.

 

[Red97Eclipseboy]

Very cool. There are still good people out there.

 

[tunethis]

I've never heard of anyone getting back a stolen car after that many years. That must have been a crazy feeling for both of the owners.

 

[ROOKIE1]

Very cool. There are still good people out there.

If only the police had done their job .

 

[blackGSX2g]

Well 40 years ago was a different time...cars didn't have as much of a paper trail as they do now.

 

[ROOKIE1]

understandable , but how many Blue 65 Mustangs could have been in the area .I like to things are much easier than other people .

Oh and you showing your age ?

 

[blackGSX2g]

I'm only 24...but know and talk with many people that grew up in that era, and constantly hear stories about how they 'skirted the law back in their day'.

Plus, the car started out as Mustang Gold, quite a bit different than the silver blue that it is now. Plus back in the day, '65 Mustangs were not exactly considered as 'rare'.

 

[iziegsx]

If only the police had done their job .

Ignorance is bliss. How do YOU know what the police have been doing about this some 38 years ago?

 

[Defiant]

The ring of this bell has a solid clank to it. If it came up with stolen numbers, it wouldn't be a matter of Judy being "nice" and her "plans to give it back". The vehicle would be impounded, the owner notified, and Judy would be getting free meals at county lock-up.
If it had been reported stolen, she'd never have been able to register it the first time through. The claim that "a computer check turned up evidence that it had been stolen" is very fishy. Even if the owner didn't get the car reported as stolen until after it had passed through the used car dealer, it would have gone off like a bomb the first time anyone tried to register it once it's in the system.

Something else is up with this story, or it's complete bullshit. I'll see if I can do some snooping on this. I see Snopes already has it on their site, but only as a point of interest.
Urban Legends Reference Pages: Daily Snopes (22 March 2008)
411.com shows no match in LA for Eugene Brakke. There's also no listing for Judy Smongesky in San Diego. The CityNews site says the story's by "CityNews.ca Staff", and the link off Snopes
My Way News - LA Man Gets Long-Stolen Mustang Back
says it's an AP News story.

 

[turbodsmawd420]

Haha, no this story is for real. It was on MSNBC....Man to be reunited with stolen Mustang - Wonderful World - MSNBC.com

 

[kqodprez]

See back then there were no "computers" to upload the information to. Only a "paper trail". As far as the police doing thier job....think about it. The car was registered...in good ole Cali. Where they CRUSH cars for having illegal/stolen parts on them. My question would be how was it registered year after year....emmisions taken during the life of the car....parking tickets issued (if any) and the car not have came up before? I agree with Defiant...it does sound fishy. But hey, if it's real it's real. The law should work harder at finding stolen cars though....would keep insurance rates down!

 

[ilikespeeding]

^Surely you couldnt just walk up to the DMV with a car and get it registered...even in the 60s and 70s you had to have some sort of VIN number that is tracable.

 

[meliketoball]

Eff that. If I kept a car for almost 40 years, I'd consider it a part IN the family. I wouldn't have given it to him if I was dying. Muhaha..evil.