Couple get their stolen car back after four months and 11k

A California couple whose car was stolen in August have had it returned to them albeit covered in Lyft stickers and with 11,000 more miles on the clock. 

Cierra and Josh Barton had bought a brand new Honda HR-V at the start of the summer but it was stolen just months later while it was parked in front of their apartment complex.

‘The panic set in a little bit,’ Cierra said to KRON4. ‘I ran back upstairs to talk to my husband and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, the car is gone!” 

But the pair were in for another shock when last week Haywood Police called to say their car had been found. 

Cierra and Josh Barton’s Honda HR-V was stolen from outside their apartment block in August

The car was covered with Lyft stickers when it was returned to them however the company says it has no record of who may have been driving the vehicle

The car was covered with Lyft stickers when it was returned to them however the company says it has no record of who may have been driving the vehicle

The car had a few dents on it and looked as though it had been in an accident

The car had a few dents on it and looked as though it had been in an accident

The odometer had done up by 11,000 miles since it was stolen four months ago

The odometer had done up by 11,000 miles since it was stolen four months ago

‘What condition will it be in? Burned out? Gutted?’ Cierra Barton thought as she and her husband drove to collect it. ‘I was imaging the worst when we went to pick it up.’

But incredibly, the car was in great shape. Aside from a few dents and a rattling hood, the car looked to have been used by someone working as a Lyft driver. There were stickers for the company in both the front and back windows.  

The odometer had gone up from 2,000 miles to more than 13,000 and there was even a pillow, a jacket and a stuffed animal in the back. 

‘It wasn’t burned out, it wasn’t gutted, but it appeared to be have been used as a Lyft,’ she said to the San Francisco Chronicle. 

Someone was using it regularly, in plain sight, and didn’t get caught.

‘How did somebody pass a background check with my make and model of the car that’s registered to me and was successfully driving around, and able to actually make a profit?’ Joshua asked.

Much to their surprise, the Barton's car was returned to them four months later after being abandoned at the side of the road

Much to their surprise, the Barton’s car was returned to them four months later after being abandoned at the side of the road

‘Not only did someone steal our car, they made money off it,’ Cierra said.

Hayward Police say the car had been found in Hayward near San Francisco where it had been abandoned and left sitting on the roadside for about two weeks.

It’s not clear who stole the car and even Lyft has said that it is unable to match the vehicle to any accounts in the area. 

In order to drive for the ride-sharing app Lyft’s California drivers are required to have a vehicle inspection form, a California driver’s license and personal vehicle insurance, a driver photo and a California license plate.

As the car was so new, it still had paper dealership plates at the time of the theft although a metal plate registered to the vehicle was discovered by nearby Pleasanton Police several weeks ago.

A 2015 National Insurance Crime Bureau reveals the Bay Area had the highest number of car thefts in the country with 45,000 cars stolen a year in the San Francisco, Oakland and Hayward areas.

The couple were extremely surprised to see their car again and it was in relatively good shape

The couple were extremely surprised to see their car again and it was in relatively good shape

It appears that the car was being driven in plain sight and someone was making money too 

It appears that the car was being driven in plain sight and someone was making money too 

The couple's car is virtually unharmed apart from a few new dents and that fact it appears to have been used by a Lyft driver who racked up another 11,000 miles on the odometer

The couple’s car is virtually unharmed apart from a few new dents and that fact it appears to have been used by a Lyft driver who racked up another 11,000 miles on the odometer



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