The 1956 Dodge Coronet dressed up to look like the one used in the 1950s TV show “Highway Patrol” that was pilfered on Christmas is back home.
It was discovered abandoned, looking a little different but otherwise appearing in good shape.
“I feel a sense of relief,” said Kyle Okura, president of the San Bernardino-based Juan Pollo chicken restaurants and owner of the vintage car that the chain drives in parades. “I’m glad it’s all back in one piece.”
Well, mostly.
Someone removed the ignition and battery and painted over the Highway Patrol logos on the doors of the black and white car, Okura said.
The Dodge was found on Saturday, Dec. 28, behind a vacated apartment complex on Marshall Boulevard in San Bernardino.
“There was no indication in the call that the citizen who discovered the car and reported it at the abandoned apartment complex recognized it as the vehicle reported stolen, only that a classic (old) Dodge car was parked on the vacant property,” San Bernardino County sheriff’s Deputy Mara Rodriguez wrote in an email on Monday.
Okura said he suspects that the thieves abandoned whatever plans they had for the car after seeing publicity about the theft in the news media.
Okura said he plans to repaint the car and place it in a more secure location. It was stolen from Juan Pollo headquarters on J Street.
His father, Albert, founder of the Juan Pollo chain who opened the McDonald’s museum in the city and was restoring the San Bernardino County desert town of Amboy before his death in 2023, purchased the Dodge some years back because he felt it was a “symbol of Americana,” son Kyle said.
“I’m sure he’s glad up there that we found it,” Okura said.