Long-time Old Cars subscribers, Jim and Jean Boyden had the unfortunate experience of having their 1935 Ford Phaeton, trailer and truck stolen. Luckily, Jim was proactive with some modern technology that was able to locate the stolen pieces. Unfortunately, the tow vehicle was partially stripped. The good news is the trailer and Phaeton were recovered unharmed. 

He passed on the following for others to learn about how to minimize your losses.

Jim and Jean Boyden's 1935 Ford Phaeton that was stolen and recovered.

"On July 8th, on the way to the Western National Meet of the Early Ford V8 Club of America, this phaeton, the box trailer it was in and the Ford 250 diesel pickup tow vehicle were stolen out of a motel parking lot in Gresham Oregon just outside of Portland. We were shocked when we emerged that morning from their motel to find the car, trailer and tow vehicle missing. 

Fortunately, I had recently placed Apple Air Tags on the trailer and in the phaeton. The iphone Air Tag app showed the trailer to be in a nearby shopping mall parking lot. We called for a Uber ride and found the trailer and phaeton safely parked in the lot but the 2001 Ford diesel pickup truck tow vehicle was gone. Stunned, we elected to abandon the trip to Wenatchee and returned home. We rented a UHaul truck to pull their trailer and the ’35 Phaeton back to San Jose."

"About a week later the Portland police called to report they had recovered the pickup. Unfortunately, the interior and exterior of the truck was stripped of many parts including the door panels, mirrors, trailer brake controller, etc, etc. The truck was shipped back to San Jose for repair."

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