A US man whose 1965 Volkswagen Beetle was stolen nearly 40 years ago and recently recovered says he never stopped grieving for the red convertible that he had running "slick as a ribbon" before it was stolen.
Joe MacDonald of Knoxville, Tennessee said he used to buy Beetles to restore and sell. Now he hopes to be able to get this one back and fix it up as well.
"I already envision myself going to the lake house in my convertible," he said on Tuesday.
"There's nothing I can't fix on a Volkswagen."
The car, now painted white, was found in Detroit in January when federal border agents checked the paperwork as it was about to be shipped overseas for restoration. MacDonald said he learned the car had been located from a reporter at WBIR-TV.
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US Customs and Border Protection spokesman Ken Hammond said the current owner didn't know the Beetle had been stolen decades ago.
MacDonald has contacted Customs and Border Protection about getting the car back. He says they are sending him a form to fill out. Knoxville police confirmed in an email on Tuesday that MacDonald was the owner of the Beetle when it was stolen in 1974.
MacDonald said he threw the registration in a box of papers long ago and didn't even know if he still had it. When he heard the Beetle had been found, he said a little prayer to Saint Anthony and began looking for the paperwork.
"It was right there on top practically," he said.
"That shocked me almost as much as them finding the car."
