A 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle that was taken from outside a business in Crowfoot Crossing at the end of October has been located in a garage in the Dover area.
The classic car was parked in the 100 block of Crowfoot Way N.W. and was stolen sometime between 1 p.m., on Sunday, October 28, and 7:30 a.m., on Monday, October 29, 2018.
Police put out an appeal to the public about the theft of the vehicle and say they received a number of tips from the community.
The car was found by patrol officers in District 4 on Wednesday in a garage in the 3000 block of Dover Road S.E.
Police believe the garage was rented to conceal the stolen car.
A 2019 Cargo Mate Utility Trailer that was stolen from a parking lot in the 3200 block of 10 Street S.E. on November 28, just hours after it was purchased, was also recovered from the garage.
“Very often trailers are stolen too and that’s what happened in this case as well is we recovered a trailer that was very likely to be used or was used or was going to be used for this vehicle,” said Calgary police Staff Sergeant Graeme Smiley.
Smiley says the trailer was likely taken to haul the car out of the city and that tips from the public are a big help in cases like this.
“This is the kind of vehicle that would stand out in a crowd and did stand out enough to, citizens within Calgary and of course we had lots of good media coverage to help us, and so acting upon a number of tips and some public cooperation we were able to recover the vehicle,” he said. “It was absolutely being hidden, likely to be transported to another jurisdiction.”
Police say damage was done to the Chevelle’s trunk, steering wheel and dash.
The steering wheel was locked with an anti-theft device but thieves sawed through it and damaged the ignition when they hotwired the car.
The classic Chevy is estimated to be worth between $60,000 and $80,000 CDN and repairs will cost around $5000.
Rob Cook, the car’s owner, says he left the car outside overnight and it was the only time he had done that.
“It was in a brightly lit area in Crowfoot, you know, right on the main street,” he said. “The one time in five and a half years I left it outside overnight and just like that, gone.”
He says he never thought he’d see it again and feels fortunate that it was found.
“It’s a really special, happy New Year’s present I guess,” he said. “Very happy to see the damage is very, very minor and just going to go to a repair place today and start working on it.”
A detective who went to recover the Chevelle came across a stolen dash from a Dodge Ram truck that was being transported in the back of another truck near the garage that was housing the stolen Chevy.
The dash came out of a truck that was stolen between December 22 and January 2 from a parking lot in the 2600 block of 58 Avenue N.E. but police say the theft is not related to the stolen Chevelle or trailer.
Police have not made an arrest in the theft of the Chevy and say it remains under investigation.
Anyone with information about the theft of the Chevrolet Chevelle, Cargo Mate Utility Trailer or the Dodge Truck is asked to contact police by calling 403-266-1234 or Crime Stoppers anonymously through either of the following methods:
TALK: 1-800-222-8477
TYPE: www.calgarycrimestoppers.org
