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posted on November 8th, 2009 at 05:17 PM
Found after 35 years!
Sadly the insurance company is the big winner.
FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS SPOKANE, Wash. (Nov. 6) -- A Volkswagen van stolen 35 years ago in Washington State has been found in a shipping container
at the Los Angeles/Long Beach seaport. Customs agents found the 1965 van on Oct. 19 when they opened a shipping container bound for the Netherlands,
the Spokesman-Review newspaper reported. They ran the vehicle identification number and discovered it was listed as stolen. Law officers said the van,
which is in great shape, was stolen from an upholstery shop in Spokane on July 12, 1974, while Spokane was hosting the 1974 World's Fair. Authorities
have not been able to find the original owner, whom they would not identify. The operators of a vehicle restoration business in Arizona were the
latest to have possession of the van, which they refurbished and planned to sell overseas, said Michael Maleta, an investigator with the California
Highway Patrol. Maleta said the shop is also considered a victim in the case, and he declined to identify it. The van now legally belongs to Allstate
Insurance Co., which paid off the original owner's theft claim back in 1974. The Highway Patrol turned over the van to Allstate this week. Maleta
said the van had been restored to pristine condition. "Now it's probably worth 27 grand," he said. "It's a beautiful van." Megan Brunet, a
spokeswoman for Allstate, said the company is looking through old records trying to find the original policy and theft claim. "Trying to find paper
files from that far back can be pretty challenging," she said. The company will likely have the van appraised and go through the process of getting a
replacement title before selling it at auction, she said. Copyright 2009 The Associated Press
amazeer
A.k.a.: Surly Duff
Bishop of Volkswagenism
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