We hear about things like this happening from time to time. It's always wonderful when something stolen and considered long gone is returned to its rightful owner – especially when it's a cool classic car. In this case, it's a 1967 Ford Mustang. Back in 1986, Lynda Alsip's first car, a forest green '67 Mustang, was stolen from her home in Salinas, California. Alsip bought the car for $800 in 1985 when she was just 17. Although she reported the theft to the police, she figured the car was a goner. That's sadly often times the case with stolen cars.

And now Alsip has been given the Christmas present of a lifetime. Police found the old Mustang at the Department of Motor Vehicles in Salinas last September. Apparently a man attempted to have it registered after owning it for 23 years. Sounding not at all suspicious, authorities began to investigate whether the car had been stolen. "It had been out of the system for so long that it came back with no file," according to the California Highway Patrol. "The officer did some digging and found out the car was stolen in 1986." And so 28 years after its disappearance, the Mustang was returned to its rightful owner, who plans to have it fixed up and start driving it again.