VENTURA : Sports Car Stolen in 1987 Is Recovered

A Ventura man’s sharp eyes and long memory have led to the recovery of his sports car that was stolen five years ago and the arrest of a man suspected of stealing it, authorities said.

Following an investigation, police arrested Blase Harmon McFadden of Ventura Wednesday on suspicion of two counts of grand theft auto, said Ventura police Sgt. Bob Anderson.

Police recovered a 1970 Porsche Targa they believe was stolen five years ago from Ventura resident Larry Sisk.

Since the December, 1987, theft, the car had been given a new identification number and paint job, but the interior had been torn up and equipment ripped out.

On the other hand, the thieves had installed a burglar alarm in the vintage sports car.

Sisk stopped at a local auto supply store earlier this month and noticed a Porsche parked in the stall next to his. Despite the different paint job and other changes, Sisk said the car bore an uncanny resemblance to the one he had reported stolen five years earlier.

“I had always been looking for the car,” Sisk said. “I took a cursory look at the car and noticed other similarities.”

Before his car was stolen, Sisk had drilled holes in the car’s large rubber bumper with the intention of installing a bicycle rack.

He had plugged the hole with a small cap, and when he took a closer look at the Porsche, saw that its bumper had an identical capped hole.

“I was flabbergasted,” Sisk said.

When the car’s driver returned, he refused to let Sisk take a closer look. But Sisk had already noted the license plate and reported his find to police.

Ventura Police Detective Greg Irvine and district attorney Investigator Beth Hamilton eventually tracked down McFadden as he allegedly delivered another stolen Porsche to a residence near Ventura Avenue and arrested him, authorities said.

“It was a very, very unusual case,” Irvine said.

McFadden remains in custody at the Ventura County Jail on $5,000 bail, and is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Sept. 9, according to court officials.