Man reunited with 1967 Mustang that was stolen two decades earlier

A man has been reunited with his 1967 Mustang that was stolen in North Carolina before being found in Florida more than two decades later. 

Owner, David Tucker, had spent many happy years behind the wheel of the classic coupe. 

The ‘irreplaceable’ Mustang held precious memories for Tucker and his son – who he had watched transition from sitting in the back as a youngster, to right up alongside him in the front as he got older. 

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The owner almost ‘gave up hope’ of finding his beloved vehicle

So, as you can imagine, he was left devastated when the 1967 Mustang – not unlike this one that turned out to be a gem – was stolen from outside a friend’s house in Oak Ridge in 2002. 

“The loss was heartbreaking. It felt like losing a family member. I had almost given up hope of ever seeing it again,” Tucker told My Fox 8. 

Following the theft, Tucker worked with Guilford County detectives to try and track it down. 

As the years passed, Tucker would diligently check for the car’s Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) with no success.

However, 21 years later – in 2023 – Detective Sergeant Ryan Seals of the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office got a lead. 

“Although the VIN had been tampered with, leading initially to a scrapped vehicle, further investigation paved the way for this remarkable discovery,” he said. 

The Mustang was found nine hours away in Florida

The car was eventually found in Florida – more than nine hours away from where it had been stolen.

Its once-blue bodywork had been repainted in white and the car was in less-than-perfect condition. 

“It’s nowhere near what it used to be. It’s going to take some work,” he said. “Restoring it to its former glory will be a project.” 

With the car found, Tucker began the lengthy process of getting it from Florida to his home in North Carolina.

Although the story may sound pretty unusual, it’s not the first time we’ve seen cars be reunited with their owners after being taken by thieves. 

One man managed to track down and return his dad’s beloved Pontiac Firebird a whopping 50 years after it was stolen. 

And, of course, car thefts don’t just happen to the average Joe. 

F1 drivers, Gerhard Berger and Jean Alesi, had their cars stolen – a F512 M and F355 respectively – after the San Marino Grand Prix in Italy only for them to be found by the London Metropolitan Police three decades later.