Typically, when a stolen vehicle’s trail goes cold for 44 years, it never turns up. Crooks like to chop ’em up and sell the parts, or grind off the VIN and tack on the identifying details from another car. Neither of those proved to be the case for this 1982 Volkswagen Rabbit in Leicester, Massachusetts, as it was just found at the bottom of Rochdale Pond thanks to some guy’s fish finder.
The Leicester Police Department posted about the recovery on Facebook, sharing that the Rabbit pickup was unearthed on Monday, April 13. It required some cross-department collaboration as the Massachusetts State Police Dive Team, Leicester Highway Department, and Town of Leicester Fire Department all worked to drag out the truck. Upon closer investigation, nothing of interest was found; some goober probably ditched it after realizing there was no other way out of a sticky situation.
I have to say, too, that the VW is in surprisingly good shape considering it went under during the Reagan Administration. As a recovering Dubber (that’s what we used to call ourselves—I’m unsure of the lingo now), I’ve seen Caddy pickups rusted worse than a 100-year-old Atlantic crab trap. I’m guessing that the water actually helped preserve some parts of the rig, as a thick coat of moss and algae is probably pretty useful in fighting off corrosion.
What’s amazing is that they were able to identify the truck’s original owner and verify that it had been stolen when it was practically brand new. There’s no word on what engine it had, but if it’s a diesel, it might still start. (That’s mostly a joke, just to be clear.)
I’m not sure whether the fisherman nabbed anything else on this excursion, but if you judge your success by poundage, I’d say this fella had a pretty good day on the water. He might have been hoping for a largemouth bass or black crappie, but a Rabbit ain’t that bad either.
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