A New York Man Lost His Car In A Toronto Parking Lot – For FOUR DAYS! Parents Asked Craigslist For Help
A New York man drove up to Toronto for a concert, lost his car, spent four days looking for it, and finally found it thanks to the help of Craigslist, BBC News is reporting.
Look, all of us have forgotten where we parked at one point or another. I’ve done it, you’ve done it too (don’t act like you haven’t!). But it’s pretty likely that no one reading this article has ever lost their car in a foreign country, spent days looking for it, and had to crowdsource for help in finding it, all while being called “doofy” by our parents.
Gavin Strickland – and no, that’s not him in the feature image of this article – really digs Metallica. So much so that he drove from Syracuse up to Toronto, about 250 miles, to see them in concert at the Rogers Centre Sunday night. Unfortunately, he forgot where he parked.
At this point, the Inquisitr would like to take a side bar and remind you to write down where you park, especially if you’re in an unfamiliar place with lots of parking options.
Unfortunately for Strickland, about all he could remember about where he parked his Nissan Versa what that it was within an $8 cab ride of the concert venue, near a Starbucks, “possibly a bank,” and “some construction.” In other words, the entirety of downtown Toronto.
Strickland spend all of Sunday night looking for his car – he even got help from Toronto police. But by Monday morning, he’d given up on trying to find his ride and took a bus back to Syracuse.
When the 19-year-old man turned up at home without his car, his parents sprung into action. And in 2017, what better way is there to get results than Craigslist? The parents took out an ad, asking the entire city of Toronto to help.
“Our doofy son parked the car in an indoor parking garage, in the first floor (slightly lower / basement level) but that garage cannot now be located. The car has US Florida license plates, a small Canadian flag affixed to the door frame, and a Bernie Sanders bumper sticker.”
Leave it to Canada to jump to an American’s aid. Perhaps spurred on by the $100 reward, or perhaps spurred on by Canada’s collective devotion to friendliness and politeness, the entire population of Toronto stepped in to help (not really, but you get the idea).
Gavin Strickland drove from Syracuse to see Metallica but forgets where he parked. He still can’t find the car https://t.co/l8pNiJCWvL pic.twitter.com/QgWOFmlLPu
— TorontoStar (@TorontoStar) July 20, 2017
Madison Riddolls, 26, and her boyfriend, decided to go looking for the car – they thought it was a giant game with real-world consequences. Using clues and dumb luck, they eventually found Strickland’s ride.
“I felt like I owed it to the family. They were sort of relying on us.”
Back in Toronto, Strickland became something of a celebrity when he retrieved his car. Cameras from local TV stations were there, snapping away.
“I feel I’m like a Hollywood actor or something.”
What’s more, the parking garage manager only charged him for one day of parking, not four, and even gave him a Bluetooth device to help him locate his car, should he ever lose it again.
“I love Canada, and I think I just love how the city got together to help me out.”
Despite being $100 poorer, plus the cost of two international bus rides, and being a national joke in two countries, Strickland still insists that the Metallica concert was the best night of his life.
Came all the way from to states to Toronto for this. Thank you all. Best night of my life???????? @Metallica @TheOfficialA7X @VOLBEAT pic.twitter.com/ZEfDCCQX3J
— Gavin Strickland (@gpstrickland31) July 17, 2017
And for the record, he insists on Twitter that he wasn’t drunk or high when he lost his ride.
[Featured Image by mikmann/ThinkStock]
