Woman's stolen Mustang returned 28 years later

SALINAS, Calif., Dec. 24 (UPI) -- A California woman said being reunited with her 1967 Ford Mustang 28 years after it was stolen was "like winning the lottery."

Lynda Alsip of Hollister said the car was stolen from her apartment complex in Salinas when she went out of town for a week with some friends in 1986 and that was the last she ever saw of the vehicle until Monday, when it was presented to her by the California Highway Patrol.

"I never thought I would see it again,"Alsip told the Monterey Herald. "It's like winning the lottery. It happens to very few people and for it to happen to me, it's just an amazing feeling."

The California Highway Patrol said the car was found in the possession of a Salinas man who had attempted to have it registered. The man told police he purchased it as a project car in 1991 and only just got around to having it registered.

Police said they are still looking into whether the man knew the vehicle was stolen.

Alsip, who paid $800 for the car in 1986, said she'll be keeping the car locked in her garage from now on whenever she isn't driving it.