A barn-find Mustang is exciting enough, but imagine the shock when Missouri police realized the dust-covered 1991 GT was actually a stolen car they had been looking for since 1993. Even more unbelievable? The suspected thief had simply swapped the VIN and been driving it—out in the open–for decades. But the real kicker? Police can’t return it because they lost any record of the original owner. No contact info. And his name? Just jotted down as “John R.”

That’s right—police tracked down a stolen Mustang but can’t find the guy who wanted it found. Sure, numbers change. People change jobs. But you’d think someone would’ve taken down an address. Or maybe the name of the Ford dealer that sold the car in the first place. Yet here we are, with a recovered Mustang and no rightful owner in sight.

Meanwhile, the suspected thief had a great run. He didn’t strip the car for parts or stash it forever. No, he just changed the VIN and drove it like it was his. Somehow, it even passed a safety inspection in 2007. Either nobody checked the stolen Mustang VIN too closely, or this guy was just confident enough to talk his way out of trouble. Ain’t the analog era just grand? And keeping the car for so long may mean he’ll get away with it.

Police think they know who did it, but here’s the problem: too much time has passed. The statute of limitations on grand theft auto is up. The guy won’t face charges for stealing the Mustang. But since he faked a VIN, fraud charges are still on the table.

And one officer sounds very sure about how that’ll end. “I’ll catch him,” said Cpl. Nate Bradley.

A stolen Mustang hidden in plain sight for decades? That’s wild. But losing the original owner’s info? That’s just embarrassing. If “John R.” ever does resurface, he’ll have quite the story to tell—assuming someone can even prove he still owns the car. As for the thief, he might’ve driven away from grand theft charges, but fraud could still park him in court. And if you ask the cops, his luck is running out.