Daily Slideshow:This Porsche Went Missing for 27 Years
In 1991, a 1979 Porsche 924 was stolen from a movie theater parking lot in Medford, Oregon. 27 years later, it was found by a man walking his dog. Taking a closer look at the car brings up a lot of strange mysteries.
1. The sports car in the woods.
Now here's a good mystery. Grab a drink and buckle in.
While it's not incredibly rare for a stolen car to be disposed of in the woods, it's a pretty big head-scratcher that this Porsche 924 would be found a full 27 years after its original theft in 1991. This car managed to hide away for nearly three decades in the woods without being detected; the details of this case make it a lot stranger still.
Found by a man who was walking his dog in the woodlands of Jackson County, Oregon, the 1979 coupe was found toppled over at the base of a cliff off Abbott Prairie Road, located some ways near Crater Lake National Park. Running the car's registration info through the police archive, this 924 was associated with a theft in 1991 from a cinema parking lot in Medford, Oregon, miles away from the spot it would get found almost 27 years later.
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2. Examining the scene of the crime.
According to the police report on the 924, the car was clearly pushed off a roadside cliff down into the woods where it was found at the cliff's base. From a road vantage, there would have been no way to spot the coupe, so it was simple luck that a dog walker stumbled upon it. It's a bit crazy to imagine a car (especially one as nice as the 924) would be hidden away like that for so long with no one noticing.
The car was upside down, with all sorts of typical woodland debris and natural wear. The guy who found the 924 may have been spooked when a collection of bones were spotted nearby. However, they were proven to be deer bones-- that's a hell of a lot more natural and expected to find in the Oregon woodlands than a German performance car!
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3. From theft to found.
In 1991, the 1979 coupe was reportedly stolen out of a parking lot in front of the Southside Cinema in Medford, Oregon. The woods the car was several miles away, meaning the car would have been given a pretty robust test drive before tossing it. The fact that the car was stolen, only to be thrown away without salvaging parts, brings up questions as to the motives of these thieves. The Porsche 924 is a fast enough car that it's easy to imagine it the workhorse for some criminal getaway operation. Maybe it was even used for a joyride; either way, conventional logic would presume the car was disposed of a short time after the theft. However, there's one element of the scene that could make this mystery much stranger...
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4. The mildew conundrum.
There's one thing that puts a real crimp on any standard theory regarding the forgotten Porsche 924. With the car as it's been found, there's a conspicuous lack of mildew buildup on it. The car has its share of typical debris and dirt on it, sure, but mildew is something that should be caked all over it, given the sort of intense precipitation that the Pacific Northwest gets. This 924 barely even has the amount you would find on an unwashed car in the city, let alone one that's supposedly been lost to nature for decades. It practically looks like someone came in to wash it off for posterity every couple of years.
It's also worth mentioning that there's far less rust on this car than a 1979 Porsche should have. Vintage Porsches like this were notorious for their rusting problems. Thusly, the automaker would switch their 924 model over to the rust-free galvanized steel in 1981 in order to fix that issue. This 1979 coupe uses galvanized steel for half of the body, but that wouldn't account for why the other half hasn't rusted down to a nib.
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5. The fate of the forgotten coupe.
There's a sad aspect of knowing a potentially beautiful sportster like the 924 has been gathering leaves all this while. The police said that it would be a tough time getting the car out of there; the dense woodland is traversable only by foot, with road access on the cliff above. It's going to be a hell of time dredging that car out of its resting place.
It's unlikely we'll ever know the full story behind this 924, but we've got to wonder where the car is going to end up now. It would be cool to see the coupe's husk used for some purpose in 2018. It may still be possible to return it to its original owner, but that's only if the paper trail stretches far enough. Otherwise, the car's remarkably well-kept parts might be cannibalized as special collector pieces; a museum might have a keen use for it so that people can see it for themselves and come to their own conclusions.
This 1979 coupe has all the traits of an urban legend in the making. We've really got to wonder what went on that winter in 1991. What have this coupe's headlights seen? Here's hoping we'll get n update on the car soon.
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