Van stolen here 35 years ago turns up in shipping container
Shawn Vestal
The Spokesman-Review The Spokesman-Review
Customs agents in Los Angeles got a surprise last month when they opened a shipping container headed for the Netherlands: a restored 1965 Volkswagen van reported stolen in Spokane more than 35 years ago.
Investigators are still trying to figure out how the van made it from Spokane in the midst of Expo ’74 to the Los Angeles seaport last month, though they assume it changed hands several times. The van was reported stolen from an auto upholstery shop on July 12, 1974; authorities have not been able to find the original owner, whom they would not identify.
The operators of a custom restoration business in Arizona were the latest to have possession of the van, which they refurbished and planned to sell overseas along with three restored VW Beetles, said Michael Maleta, an auto theft investigator with the California Highway Patrol.
He said the custom shop, which he would not identify, is also considered a victim in the case. The legal owner of the van is Allstate Insurance Co., which paid off the owner back in 1974, and the highway patrol turned over the van to the company this week.
Customs agents came across the van Oct. 19 in a shipping container at the Los Angeles/Long Beach seaport complex. When they ran the vehicle identification number they discovered it was still listed as stolen.
Maleta said that federal officials at the border check vehicles against the National Insurance Crime Bureau database, which includes all old stolen-car cases. Most police databases remove stolen cars from “active” status after five years – after which stolen cars may be sold and resold to buyers who can register the vehicles with state agencies, he said.
In 1974, the van was nine years old and the owner apparently was trying to spiff it up – taking it to a detail shop and then an upholstery shop in the 1600 block of West Second Avenue, from where it was stolen, according to the police report.
Maleta said the van had been restored to pristine condition. The value of a 9-year-old VW van back then would have been counted in the hundreds of dollars.
“Now it’s probably worth 27 grand,” he said. “It’s a beautiful van.”
Megan Brunet, a spokeswoman for Allstate, said the company has been digging through old records trying to find the original policy and theft claim. She said the company could not identify the original owner, under its privacy rules.
“We’ve been looking through our files to find the original policy,” she said. “Trying to find paper files from that far back can be pretty challenging.”
She said the company will likely have the van appraised and go through the process of getting a replacement title before selling it at auction.
A 1965 Volkswagen minibus that was stolen in 1974 has been recovered by customs agents in Los Angeles.  The vintage minibus was in pristine condition, valued at $25,000, and was found during a routine inspection of a shipping container scheduled for departure to The Netherlands.  A routine computer database search on its vehicle identification number flagged it as having been stolen from a vehicle upholstery shop in Spokane, Washington on July 12, 1974.  A custom restoration business in Arizona was attempting to deliver it to overseas clients last month when authorities intercepted the vehicle.


The theft appeared on the National Insurance Crime Bureau database, which is used by border authorities and contains all stolen vehicle records.  Most police databases remove unsolved vehicle thefts after five years.

The California Highway Patrol does not suspect the restorer of wrongdoing, according to investigating officer Mike Maleta.  Possession of the vehicle apparently changed several times.  Police in Spokane have not yet located the rightful owner, whose identity has not been released to the press.  Maleta hopes that a trail of registration documents and interviews will uncover the thief.


The Allstate insurance company paid $2500 shortly after the theft occurred and wants to take possession of the vintage minibus.  Allstate spokeswoman Megan Brunet expects that after the necessary paperwork is processed the firm will sell it at auction.