In February of 1967, a 1953
Triumph Tiger 100 motorcycle was stolen from a man's backyard in Omaha,
Nebraska. More than 45 years later, that same bike was found by U.S.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents at a Los Angeles port.
The bike had been on its way to Yokohama, Japan when authorities from Customs decided to take a closer look, the
Orange County Register
reported. Upon seeing that bike's vehicle identification number (VIN)
matched a bike that was reported stolen way back when, agents seized the
bike.
The bike, estimated to be worth around $9,000, was then
sent to California Highway Patrol who tracked down the owner, now 72 and
still living in Nebraska.
Via the OC Register:
Lou
Koven, special agent for the National Insurance Crime Bureau, who was
in charge of finding the owner, said the owner was in disbelief and
shock when contacted about the motorcycle, which had an estimated value
of $9,000. When it was stolen, the bike was worth $300.
"He thought I was scamming him," Koven said. "But then the police contacted him, and then he started believing."
Los Angeles Weekly
reports that this type of find isn't as rare as one might think. Todd
C. Owen, CBP director of field operations in Los Angeles, said that CBP
agents have recently intercepted two other vehicles stolen at least 20
years ago.
Via L.A. Weekly:
"CBP officers and
their law enforcement counterparts check many outbound vehicles on a
regular basis. Their success in recovering stolen vehicles is
remarkable. A few have nice stories like this one.
Omaha.com
spoke with the bike's owner, Donald R. Devault, who explained that the
bike used to look a lot different. "Back then it was baby blue and it
looked like a little toy chopper," he said.
He told the paper
that he's looking forward to the reunion. “I’m going to ask her, ‘Where
have you been?’ I bet there’s a lot stories she could tell me,” he told
Omaha.com. “I wish she could talk because a lot’s happened in 46 years.”
