Police recovered a 106-year old World War II veteran’s 1956 Cadillac Eldorado coupe after it was stolen and potentially re-sold through the internet.
According to CBS Sacramento, Curly Bunfill’s blue Cadillac was stolen from him last Friday before being returned to him just a few days later on Monday. It wasn’t a sharp-eyed deputy that helped recover the car, however, as it was simply left in a local police department parking lot. The man who brought it there had told police that he had recently purchased the car, but returned it after seeing reports that it had been stolen.
The thieves picked a rather conspicuous car to steal. The big blue Cadillac was a gift to Bunfil from late actress Rita Hayworth and has ‘Rita Hayworth’ inscribed in the doors, engine block and rear end.
“I met her at a party in Beverly Hills,” Bunfill said of Hayworth. “She’s quite a lady. A hell of a dancer. The poor thing died and she willed the car to me.”
Bunfill worked as a Hollywood stuntman before he joined the military, where he earned three purple heart medals and a number of other service awards. He and his Cadillac, which he says is his only real prized possession, are well-known in the Sacramento area. With a laugh, he told media that he was frustrated to have the car stolen from him, because his fighting days are well past him at 106-years old.
Luckily Curly has other people looking out for him. A neighbor noticed the car was stolen after seeing that his garage door had been tampered with, and someone left an anonymous note in his mailbox naming who the thief could be, though police say their investigation remains active.
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Source/screenshots: CBS Sacramento
Comments
great story! I had a black 56 Eldo.