Man reunited with beloved 1967 Dodge Dart six months after it was stolen

A Fresno man who was left devastated after his 1967 Dodge Dart was stolen has been reunited with the classic car six months later.  

Michael Montgomery, 71, bought the Dodge Dart from its original owner because it reminded him of the ‘old days’. 

But six months ago, Montogomery was left heartbroken ago when his beloved car vanished. 

In the months that followed, Montgomery said he became convinced that he’d ‘never see it again’.

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The man thought the 1967 Dodge Dart was gone for good

Sadly car thefts are all too common.

Canadian police found a haul of stolen vehicles thought to be worth around $3 million, while cops in the UK recently recovered $1.3 million worth of stolen supercars from a secret ‘chop shop’.

In the US, Montgomery feared his car could have suffered a similar fate – being used for its parts or shipped off to another part of the country. 

“Come on! Somebody around here has to know where this car is, or they took it to Florida or something and sold it for parts,” he told KMPH. 

However, a tip-off made to the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office via Valley Crime Stoppers led to the car and its owner being reunited. 

“The tip stated that he had been advising people that it was stolen, so we took the tip and started doing an investigation,” a detective from the force told KMPH. 

Following up on the tip-off, officers arrived at a property and discovered the car parked there. 

A 50-year-old man was arrested and charged on auto theft charges. 

Police said it was unusual to find a vintage car that had been stolen

Meanwhile, Montgomery had his car towed back to his free of charge and was delighted to find it was still in great condition. 

Even the officers were shocked to find that the Dodge Dart hadn’t been cut up or sold on. 

“It’s very uncommon that we find vehicles such as this, especially vintage and classic cars because there’s high trade, high value in them, and a lot of times we find that those cars either get parted out and pieced out or chopped up as they would say on the streets,” the detective added. 

The owner says he now makes sure he keeps his valuables safely stored away in an attempt to deter any other would-be thieves. 

“I learned my lesson too that unfortunately nowadays you can’t… you just have to protect everything, I guess,” he said. 

“Hide it, lock it, do something.”