License Plate Stolen

(From 7/26/06 on my old blog)

Why would anyone steal a license plate? Especially one that expires in just a few months. About 5 years ago, our van was in the shop for some routine maintenance and when we got it back, the rear license plate was missing. We had just renewed the stickers about a week before so it was good for a whole year. I reported it to the police and then acquired a replacement set of plates for $5. It wasn’t a big deal and I never heard any more about the theft.

Well, it happened again. My daughter had our car at the local Barnes and Noble and discovered the rear plate missing when returning to the car after being in the store for about 15 minutes. It was about 6:30 or so on a Tuesday evening. First thing this morning, I got some replacement plates ($7.36 this time) and then went over to the police station to report the theft.

I didn’t expect to hear anything more so I was quite surprised when the police phoned me late this afternoon to inform me that they had found the plate! It was on a stolen car found in an apartment complex several miles from the bookstore. I don’t know if they found the plate because they found the car or if they found the car because they found the plate. They were going to give me the plate back but since I had already replaced it, there was no need. They told me they were going to check it for fingerprints. I hope they are able to find the culprit who stole the plates and the car.