Mustang Stolen in October 1993 Found in May 2019

Fox Body Mustang was found 307 months later in a different state and police are attempting to locate the owner.

Back on October 7, 1993, a man identified only as “John R.” called the police in Overland Park, Kansas to report his 1991 Ford Mustang stolen. According to Fox4KC, on May 16, 2019, the Overland Park Police chief posted to Twitter that after almost 26 years, they found that pony car hidden in a barn in Missouri. Unfortunately, the car is in rough shape and while the police have the car, they don’t know the last name of the person who reported the car stolen back in 1993, so they don’t know how to get in touch with him.

Unearthing a Stolen Car

A piece of property in rural Missouri was purchased recently and on that property was an old barn. When the new owners got into that old barn, they were surprised to find a 1991 Ford Mustang tucked away. The new owners of the property checked with the local police and they were likely disappointed to learn that this car had been reported stolen back in 1993. The police in Missouri contacted the police in Overland Park, Kansas, where the original report was made and let them know that they had the car.

The problem now is that the Overland Park police don’t know who “John R.” is, nor do they know how to get in touch with him. The numbers on file from the report back in 1993 are no longer in service and the address isn’t correct nearly three decades later, so the Overland Park police have taken to Twitter to help find the owner.

Not Sitting Forever

While the 1991 Mustang has clearly been sitting for a long time, it has not been hidden since it was stolen back in 1993. The car was illegally labeled with a new VIN and registered for use in Missouri, with the last safety inspection coming back in 2007. Based on that, it seems that the car has been sitting for 11 or 12 years, but prior to that, the thief had likely been driving it in plain sight for years.

Because of that, police in Missouri might be able to bust the criminal, but not for stealing the car. According to Missouri Highway Patrol Corporal Nate Bradley, it has been too long to pop the person who drove the car for years for theft, but in registered, insuring the driving a car with a falsified VIN, that person committed fraud and he or she can still be prosecuted for that.

“I think the guy was pretty clever,” Bradley said. “I think he’s probably — if he watches this he’s probably sipping some iced tea, thinking he got away with it for a long time. But I’ll catch him.”

So, the car has been found in terrible condition and the Missouri police might be able to catch the person who drove the Mustang GT until 2007, but the police in Kansas don’t know who actually owns this Fox Body pony car.

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Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com

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