Police in Oregon Recover Car Stolen 21 Years Ago

No charges are anticipated against the man who was unaware of the stolen status of the vehicle when he purchased the car from a third party.

1940 Plymouth recovered 21 years after being stolen Photo: Oregon State Police

(SHERIDAN, Ore.) - On August 10th, Oregon State Police troopers recovered a 1940 Plymouth sedan that was reported stolen exactly 21 years ago. The owner of the Plymouth, Bruce Rask of Rainier, reported to police in August 1986 that his 1940 Plymouth -- a 4-door sedan with suicide doors that he hoped to restore to its original condition -- had been stolen. Rask received a telephone call Monday, August 6th from an individual who had unknowingly purchased the stolen car from a third party.

They had purchased the car without a title, and contacted Rask to obtain a release so he could register the vehicle. Rask and his wife, Deanna asked some questions and then drove by the caller's residence in Sheridan where they found their long lost car. Then they called the State Police. "It was all rusted out," Deanna Rask said, "probably from sitting out in the rain all these years. We bought the car intending to restore it when we lived on Sauvie Island, but while we were moving from there to Columbia County, the car disappeared from the property." Rask had originally reported the stolen vehicle to the Portland Police Bureau on August 10th, 1986. Today, 21 years later, the Oregon State Police recovered his stolen vehicle at a residence in Sheridan.

No charges are anticipated against the man who -- the investigation showed was unaware of the stolen status of the vehicle when he purchased the car from a third party. "Never buy a motor vehicle from a third party without a title to the car," says OSP St. Helens Trooper Jeff Dickerson.

"If the seller is unable to provide a title to the vehicle, there is a very good chance the seller is not authorized to be making the sale at all. You could end up losing what you paid for the vehicle if it can be shown it actually belongs to someone else."