[1]Images: MSNBC [2]
Some people just don’t have luck on their side. Unfortunately, that’s what one Washington car collector is finding out after a 1970 Chevelle SS and 1965 Corvette were stolen out of his Puyallup, Washington warehouse last week. But this isn’t just a case of stolen vehicles vanishing without a trace. As we found out from CorvetteBlogger [3], the circumstances surrounding the theft itself seem a bit fishy to say the least.
Gary Tucci considered his cars to be almost like children, according to MS [4]NBC News [4] in Seattle, and many car enthusiasts can relate. Tucci’s ‘65 Sting Ray, which he bought just last year at a Barrett-Jackson auction, according to the News Tribune [2], and all-original ‘70 Chevelle SS were not only valuable monetarily, with both reportedly worth upwards of $150,000, but they also held a sentimental value. Tucci told the news station he even talked to the cars and got to know their different personalities.
[5] But between 10 PM Wednesday August 8th and 9 AM Thursday August 10th, someone took Tucci’s babies away from him, stealing them out of the warehouse where they were kept. With high-end vehicles stored at the facility, one might question the amount of security devices present or lacking to allow this to happen, but the thieves didn’t gain access through a faulty lock or even a compromised security system.
The person(s) who stole the vehicles reportedly gained access to the vehicles through a hole that had been smashed into the wall of the warehouse by a neighbor’s truck. The thieves then apparently located the key box containing the keys to the Vette and Chevelle and drove the vehicles right out the garage door.
The neighbor who created the hole in the warehouse wall has admitted his fault but claims he had nothing to do with the vehicles’ disappearance, which he says happened after he left the scene following the accident. We have a feeling this neighbor may be facing some extra questioning while the hunt for the two cars continues. But in the meantime, Pierce County Crimestoppers are asking for your help and offering a $6,000 reward for information leading to charges being brought against those responsible for the theft. If you have any information about this case, you are asked to call the Pierce County Crimestoppers at (253) 591-5959.