Lynda Alsip was only 17 years old when her dream of having her own car came true. With some help from her father, she was able to buy her first car, a 1967 Ford Mustang, for the price of $800. For Lynda, she and the car were destined for each other since they share the same birthday.
In 1986, a year after she bought the car, it was stolen. At that time, Lynda was out of town and the car was parked outside her Salinas apartment complex. The car was gone even before she had the chance to install her customized license plates "LYNDA 67."
In the almost 28 years that the car had been gone, Lynda never thought she would see it again.
"It's like winning the lottery," said Lynda after seeing her first car again.
Police said that they found the vehicle in September at the Department of Motor Vehicles in Salinas. Apparently, a man was trying to register the car, which he claimed to have been in his possession for 23 years. It was not clear if the man knew that the car was stolen. Authorities are now investigating how the man got hold of the car.
"It had been out of the system for so long that it came back with no file," said officer Jaime Rios of California Highway Patrol. After carefully digging out the car's history, the officer learned that it was stolen in Salinas back in 1986.
According to officer Chris Menchen, the man said that he bought the car from a storage and had brought it around for the registration. Menchen then contacted Lynda and asked her if she had ever had her car stolen.
Lynda was apprehensive of the call.
"At first I didn't think it was going to be a happy call," said Lynda. "But then he asked me if I had ever had my car stolen and I immediately thought: 'Oh my god! You found my green 1967 Mustang!'"
The reunion between Lynda and her car happened on Dec. 22. While she was sitting in her car, Lynda said that it brought out a lot of emotions. She thought about her father who is no longer living. It was her father who taught her how to change the car's oil.
Lynda wanted to make sure that the car would be in her possession all her life. She plans to put it in a garage and bring it back to road-worthy condition.
Finally, Lynda was able to install her personalized license plates.
