Man reunited with his car, 27 years after it was stolen.
Dec 8th, 2010 by Steve Simmons
On July 31, 1983, Robert Andrews — then a Santa Ana resident — reported his 1973 Chevrolet Camaro stolen from a location in Orange County. There were few leads and the 1973 Camaro was never found but last month, it showed up after a man — who had just purchased it from a woman in Los Angeles — tried to register the car at the DMV.
It turns out the vehicle was still listed as stolen, prompting DMV workers to call the police. The investigation led to Andrews, who now lives in Nevada. CHP Officer Travis Ruiz said an insurance claim was never filed for the stolen Camaro’s replacement value, so authorities determined that Andrews was still the legal owner. He was notified that he could pick up his car at the CHP’s West Los Angeles Area office in Culver City. The Camaro, which still runs, “doesn’t look too bad,” Ruiz said. It had been painted black, and its interior is in good condition, he added.
The man who bought the car told authorities that the woman who sold it to him had told him that she had kept it in the backyard for more than 10 years, apparently abandoned there by relatives. While the man is not a suspect, authorities say they plan to talk to the woman who sold him the car.
