In 1976, Modesto Fleming’s C2-generation 1964 Chevrolet Corvette was stolen while she was living in Anaheim, California. At the time, the police were unable to track down her car, and she believed the Vette was gone forever. And that was indeed the case until this October, when Fleming got her car back thanks to Dave Madrigal, a California Highway Patrol officer in the northern California town of Red Bluff, and quite a bit of luck.
Earlier this year, the then owner took the 1964 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray to a local car show. As the Red Bluff Daily News reported, someone at the show with the knowledge to decode vehicle identification numbers pointed out that the car’s VIN didn’t actually belong to a Corvette. As it turned out, the VIN was actually from a 1964 Impala. Using a different identifying number located elsewhere on the car, the officer was able to verify with the National Insurance Crime Bureau that the Corvette had been stolen. “The number returned to a 1964 Chevy Corvette that was an unrecovered stolen vehicle out of the Anaheim Police Department in September of 1976,” Officer Madrigal told the Red Bluff Daily News. “I contacted Anaheim and advised them of the situation. They then located the victim from 1976, who is currently living in Arizona, and told her we had her car.”

Four decades after it was originally swiped, Fleming has her Corvette back. Sadly, the car wasn’t recovered from the thief: The ma...