The owner of the car initially did not believe the police officers who informed her of the find 36 years later. After making sure the information was reliable, the woman immediately went to pick up her "muscle car."

A resident of New Jersey, Janice Maffucci, had already lost hope of ever seeing her 1969 Chevrolet Camaro SS again, reports ITAR-TASS. The car was stolen in her home state in 1975. However, decades later, the rare sports coupe was found on the west coast of the United States. "At first I couldn't believe it. When the call came from the police with the news that my Camaro was found in California, I hung up, thinking it was a joke. I didn't think such a thing was even possible," the woman told local TV channels.

Although all the glory went to the police, it was not they who found the car. The vehicle was discovered thanks to the attentiveness of a collector of rare cars, Keith Williams, who bought the black Camaro for 28 thousand dollars at an online auction. The man noticed that some components of the car did not match the records in the technical passport of the muscle car. In particular, the standard six-cylinder engine had been replaced with an eight-cylinder one.

The collector contacted the highway patrol, suspecting that the car might be listed as stolen. The officers checked the identification number and established that it matched the number of a nut-colored Camaro registered in Maffucci's name back in the 70s of the last century. The car was stolen 36 years ago right from the post office where the current owner's father worked.

When in a conversation with the police the woman did not show much interest in the rarity, calling it "an old piece of scrap metal," the officers explained to her that the car was in excellent condition and was of great value. "In 99% of cases, such rare cars disappear without a trace. It was the same with this one, but chance helped. Now we are trying to identify the alleged thief of Maffucci's car," the police stated.

Chevrolet Camaro, produced since 1967, have become some of the most iconic American cars, along with the Chevrolet Corvette, Ford Mustang, and Dodge Challenger. These models often appeared in movies and to this day remain a coveted prize for collectors of exotic cars.