LOS ANGELES—A Texas guy whose prized sports activities automobile was stolen FORTY TWO years in the past recovered the car in California after recognizing it on eBay, government mentioned Sunday.

Robert Russell informed the l. a. County sheriff's officers that he had by no means given up looking for the 1967 Austin Healy after it was stolen from his Philadelphia house in 1970.

The 66-year-old retired gross sales supervisor from Southlake advised the Dallas Morning Information (a distant http://dallasne.ws/ML2fBq) he paid a chum $3000 for the auto. It had sentimental price to him as it was stolen the morning after he took his long term spouse out on their 2d date.

Russell mentioned he spent years browsing the web on the lookout for the auto and did not have so much wish of discovering it.

"The proven fact that the automobile nonetheless exists is improbable," he stated. "IT WOULD was junked or wrecked."

He mentioned he checked on eBay periodically and noticed it a couple of weeks in the past. He in an instant known as a Beverly Hills automotive dealership that was promoting it.

He stated the vehicle's identity quantity matched that of his automotive. He had the unique key and automotive title, however now not a duplicate of the stolen-car report back to turn out that it was stolen from him.

Russell contacted Philadelphia police for assist and discovered that the stolen-car document wasn't appearing up on the FBI's nationwide crime index as a result of one car id quantity was entered incorrectly. The file was after all discovered and the report was

reactivated, allowing a L. a. government to impound the auto.

Russell and his wife, Cynthia, drove to L. a. and took ownership of the automobile. It is now worth $23,000.

"It nonetheless runs, however the brakes do not paintings well," he mentioned. "WE ARE GOING TO placed it again how it was."