SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (WDTN) — A local man is asking for any leads that may lead to the location of his stolen vintage car.
Jim Kirkpatrick was on the way to a Columbus car show when it was taken from a motel parking lot. After 15 years of restoring a 1969 SS Camaro, he says it is heartbreaking to see all of his hard work, time, money, and love just vanish.
“From the motor, the transmission, the rear end, the breaks, the suspension, the paint, the interior, the car was a nut and bolt restoration. I mean, I’ve done everything to it,” he said. Kirkpatrick has put over $35 thousand into the restorations.
Kirkpatrick was in Columbus for the Good Guys Show when his car was stolen from the parking lot of the Comfort Suites Fairgrounds.
He said, “I looked out the hotel window and looked down and the car was gone. You could see where they had popped the ignition, the chrome ring around the ignition, had popped it off and it was just laying right there where the car was.”
Kirkpatrick says he was not the only victim on Sunday night. Someone parked near his car had a 1969 Chevelle that was also stolen.
There were only about four or five hours between when he last checked on the vehicle and when he noticed it missing, prompting this warning for fellow vintage car owners.
“You need to set on those cars,” he said. “You need to actually have someone watching that car twenty-four seven at the hotel and at the show, I mean, that’s how bad it’s getting. These people are taking these cars. They’re that gutsy.”
Kirkpatrick says his car was fully insured and should receive the total value back, but it is not about the money.
“You get that car the way you want it, and I was going to pass that car on to Abby, and now there’s nothing,” he said.
He is offering a $500 reward to anyone that has information that leads to the car. If you have any tips, contact Columbus Police.
