California Highway Patrol officers in Placer County recently returned a 1971 Chevrolet Chevelle to its original owner 33 years after the classic car was stolen in the Bay Area.
The investigation began with a routine vehicle identification number verification at the CHP Auburn office. A person who had unknowingly purchased the Chevrolet Chevelle Super Sport, which had an out-of-state registration, brought the car to CHP to have its vehicle identification number, or VIN, verified, the agency said in a news release Monday.
During the inspection of the classic muscle car, officers found irregularities in the VIN and determined it had been altered…