stolen Mustangs recovered

a fisherman reported that he had struck a submerged object with his boat. When the tide went out a 2006 Ford Mustang, valued at $80,000, was spotted in the water. A search and rescue team was called and a tow truck used to retrieve the Mustang.

http://www.thegentlemanracer.com/2011/10/stolen-mustang-found-in-lake.html

Stolen mustang stats

For over 25 years, the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) has published Hot Wheels, an annual report of America's 10 most stolen vehicles.

NICB reviewed Mustang theft data from 1964-2011 and identified 611,093 theft records. Overall, from 1981 through 2011, a total of 411,155 Mustangs were reported stolen. The most thefts occurred in 1981 (20,708) and the fewest in 2011 (4,347).

Although data for all years is available, confidence in pre-1981 records is low due to the inconsistency in reporting protocols and vehicle identification number (VIN) systems in use prior to 1981.

The single year with the most U.S. sales was 1966 with 549,436.
2009 logged the fewest Mustang sales reaching only 66,623 units.

 http://www.thegentlemanracer.com/2012/02/look-at-thefts-of-american-automotive.html

In 1982, a Mustang owned by a young Marine stationed at Cherry Point, North Carolina, was stolen. This was no ordinary Mustang; it was a 1965 Shelby GT-350.

The Marine soon deployed and never saw that car again-until 2007 when an NICB agent contacted him with news that his Mustang was located in Maryland. In the intervening years since it was stolen, the Mustang's true identity-its VIN-had been painstakingly altered and matched with a fraudulent title. It was then sold to an unsuspecting buyer who eventually put a new $12,000 Shelby engine in it.

The duped owner was contacted in 2007 by the Maryland State Police and an NICB special agent asking to inspect his Shelby. As you can imagine, he was absolutely dazed when they informed him that his prized possession was, in fact, stolen property.

 That young Marine from 1982-now a professional airline pilot-was overjoyed when he was notified that his dream car had been recovered and was in excellent condition. And, in a classy gesture of goodwill-he was not legally required to do so-the pilot gave the former owner a check for $12,000 for the engine.