Retired trial lawyer Ivan Schneider recently learned to never give up hope. Authorities found the 82-year-old man’s treasure; a 1967 Jaguar that was stolen 46 years ago. Ivan never imagined he’d see the Jag again, but thanks to customs officials at Los Angeles docks, the two will be reunited again.
Schneider went on to collect other cars, but he could never forget the 67 Jaguar .
“I would tell stories about this great car that got stolen. I have had a lot of great cars since then, but none has been as pretty.”
Thieves took the 67 Jaguar outside Schneider’s home in New York. The man walked up and down the street in disbelief, but he could not find the Jaguar anywhere. The man filed a police report, but as time wore on, he came to the conclusion that the Jaguar was lost forever. He reluctantly replaced it about a month later.
Fast-forward 46 years later. Custom’s official Javier Larios called and said, “When we located the vehicle, it was in a container bound for the Netherlands,” putting Schneider back into a state of disbelief.
The break in the case came when the National Insurance Crime Bureau told the Customs and Border Protection to be on the look-out for the stolen car. Once customs cross-referenced the information they found a container with the 67 Jaguar and had it returned immediately.
Lucky they caught it in time, once in Europe, the Jaguar would likely be gone forever.
The recovery brought Schneider to recollect high-speed pleasure drives when he was younger, easily pushing the vehicle to speeds over 100 mph on open highways. It will be some time before Ivan can relive the crazy driving of his youth, since the interior of the car has quite a bit of wear and tear. Schneider plans to have the car returned to New York where he will have it restored at an estimated cost of $100,000. In the Jaguar’s current condition, it would fetch about $23,600, but once fixed up, the Jaguar will be worth over six figures.
The container officials took apparently was loaded with stolen cars, including a 1969 Corvette stolen 26 years ago in Oregon, a 1976 Mercedes 280 and a 2007 Mercedes E350.
It isn’t clear if officials arrested anyone responsible for the containers or if custom’s officials will increase their vigilance to try to stop stolen cars from shipping out of the country.
As previously reported by the Inquisitr , there seems to be an increase in crime being mixed in with legitimate trade. Earlier in Los Angeles, police made a massive money laundering bust, raiding a seemingly ordinary clothing wholesalers.
In any case, Ivan Schneider is happy to have found his 1967 Jaguar, saying it’s “My Christmas gift.”
[Image Credit: Thomas doerfer/Wikimedia]
