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 |  Los Angeles Times -
Nov-06-2009VW bus stolen 35 years ago is found in shipping container bound for Europe(topic overview)
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The bus is in pristine condition and still runs, customs officials said in a press release. Customs agents in Los Angeles got a surprise last month when they opened a shipping container headed for the Netherlands: a restored 1965 Volkswagen van reported stolen in Spokane more than 35 years ago. Investigators are still trying to figure out how the van made it from Spokane in the midst of Expo '''74 to the Los Angeles seaport last month, though they assume it changed hands several times. The van was reported stolen from an auto upholstery shop on July 12, 1974; authorities have not been able to find the original owner, whom they would not identify. The operators of a custom restoration business in Arizona were the latest to have possession of the van, which they refurbished and planned to sell overseas along with three restored VW Beetles, said Michael Maleta, an auto theft investigator with the California Highway Patrol. He said the custom shop, which he would not identify, is also considered a victim in the case. The legal owner of the van is Allstate Insurance Co., which paid off the owner back in 1974, and the highway patrol turned over the van to the company this week. [1] SPOKANE, Wash. — 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.[2] The 1965 Bus was found in at the Los Angeles/Long Beach ports, in a shipping container bound for the Netherlands, Customs authorities said. They ran the van's vehicle identification number and discovered it had been reported stolen from Spokane, Washington in the year of Patty Hearst, Nixon's resignation and an OPEC-led gas crunch.[3]
Customs agents came across the van Oct. 19 in a shipping container at the Los Angeles/Long Beach seaport complex. When they ran the vehicle identification number they discovered it was still listed as stolen.[1]
A Volkswagen van stolen 35 years ago from Spokane has been found in a shipping container at the Los Angeles/Long Beach seaport.[4] As a result of an outbound operation at the Los Angeles/Long Beach seaport, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials seized a 1965 Volkswagen Bus which was reported stolen in Spokane, WA more than 35 years ago.[5] LOS ANGELES -- A 1965 Volkswagen Bus stolen in Spokane 35 years ago was found last month inside a cargo ship container at a Los Angeles seaport by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents.[6] When U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents at the Port of Los Angeles opened a shipping container bound for the Netherlands, they discovered a 1965 Volkswagen bus stolen in Washington state 35 years ago.[7]
LOS ANGELES -- A Volkswagen Bus reported stolen in Washington more than 35 years ago has turned up in Southern California.[8]
A mint-condition 1965 Volkswagen microbus reported stolen 35 years ago from Spokane, Wash., turned up during a routine inspection of several vehicles on Oct. 19, according to Jaime Ruiz, a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. "It looks like the car was restored, or at least kept in pristine condition, and it still runs like a dream," Ruiz said. "It had about 70,000 miles on the odometer, but we don't know if those are the original miles, if they were rolled back or if it flipped and started over again."[5] U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials announced that they just recovered a Volkswagen van that had been reported stolen in 1974.[3]
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials at the Los Angeles/Long Beach seaport examined a container scheduled to be exported to the Netherlands on October 19 and found the 1965 VW Bus inside.[8] On October 19, while conducting a search of the Los Angeles/Long Beach seaport complex, a container that was bound for the Netherlands was cracked open, revealing the van stolen in Spokane 35 years ago.[6]
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. [2] Upon running the VIN number on a law enforcement database, officers discovered the vehicle had been reported stolen in Spokane, Washington in July 12, 1974, according to CBP officials.[8] After running the VIN number on a law enforcement database, CBP officers learned that the vehicle had been reported stolen on July 12, 1974. "This is a unique case that reflects our strategic approach in utilizing the best of intelligence, training and use of information in enforcing laws and regulations at our ports," said Kevin Weeks, CBP director of Field Operations.[9]
The V-Dub microbus was reported stolen from a Spokane auto upholstery shop on July 12, 1974, the same time that city was hosting the World Expo and one month before the resignation of President Richard Nixon, said Officer Jennifer DeRuwe, a spokeswoman for the Spokane Police Department.[5]
The vehicle identification number of the bus, which was swiped in Spokane on July 12, 1974, was still in police computers.[7]
"This is a unique case that reflects our strategic approach in utilizing the best of intelligence, training and use of information in enforcing laws and regulations at our ports," said Customs field operations director Kevin Weeks. Spokane police said the case was still open and that it's current owner, an insurance company, would like the car back. [3] CBP officers contacted state authorities who confirmed that the 1965 Volkswagen Bus case was still open and that the current owner of the car was an insurance company.[9]
Authorities were unable to track down the original owner, so the bus was sent to Allstate, said Jim Klapthor, a spokesman for the insurance firm. "It's too early to tell what will become of the vehicle itself," Klapthor said. "But the CHP and customs agents can point to a story like this showing what great lengths they make in tracking down stolen goods and we can't thank them enough for being so diligent in making this discovery."[5] Federal customs agents at the Port of Los Angeles made a totally groovy discovery while inspecting a cargo container bound for the Netherlands, authorities announced Thursday.[5] The van turned up at the Port of Los Angeles when an Arizona-based restoration shop was trying to ship it to a car collector in the Netherlands, Maleta said.[5]
The vehicle was released to Los Angeles authorities, and the owner was notified.[6]
The restorer, who was not identified, isn't a suspect in the long-ago theft, authorities said. "He's a victim himself. He was an innocent purchaser," said Mike Maleta, an investigator with the California Highway Patrol, who will attempt to trace the vehicle's ownership back through interviews and registration documents. "I'm going to try my best to find the crook," he said.[7] Even more far out: The restored blue-and-white hippie-mobile has an estimated value of $27,000 to $30,000, at least 10 times what it was worth 35 years ago, said Officer Mike Maleta of the California Highway Patrol's foreign export and recovery task force.[5]
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.[2] 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.[2]
Customs agents inspecting a load bound for the Netherlands discovered a 1965 van that disappeared from a Spokane repair shop in 1974. [7] In 1974, the van was nine years old and the owner apparently was trying to spiff it up ''' taking it to a detail shop and then an upholstery shop in the 1600 block of West Second Avenue, from where it was stolen, according to the police report.[1] Maleta said that federal officials at the border check vehicles against the National Insurance Crime Bureau database, which includes all old stolen-car cases. Most police databases remove stolen cars from '''active''' status after five years ''' after which stolen cars may be sold and resold to buyers who can register the vehicles with state agencies, he said.[1]
Maleta said Spokane police couldn't find the owner. "Allstate paid her $2,500 or so to settle the claim," he said. "Now it's worth $25,000. It's in pristine condition. It looks like it's brand new.[7]
"The person who most recently had the bus may not have necessarily known that it was stolen 35 years ago, and the bus may have gone through several hands before it ended up here," Ruiz said. "Maybe if the previous owner sees this in the news, he or she will come forward." [5] Authorities ran the vehicle's identification number and found that it was still listed as stolen.[5]
SOURCES
1. Van stolen here 35 years ago turns up in shipping container | Spokesman.com | Nov 5, 2009
2. The Associated Press: Van stolen 35 years ago in Wash. state recovered
3. 1974 Called: It Wants Its Magic Bus Back - Los Angeles News - LA Daily
4. Local News | Van stolen 35 years ago is recovered | Seattle Times Newspaper
5. Stolen VW microbus turns up at the Port of LA - 35 years later - The Daily Breeze
6. Stolen van turns up on LA cargo ship 35 years later | Idaho News from KTVB.COM | Boise news, Idaho weather, sports, traffic & events | Regional News
7. VW bus stolen 35 years ago is found in shipping container bound for Europe -- latimes.com
8. VW Bus Reported Stolen 35 Years Ago Found in SoCal - KTLA
9. VW bus reported stolen in Spokane 35 years ago recovered - KHQ Right Now - News and Weather for Spokane and North Idaho |
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