The Mustang is one of the most popular and recognized Ford vehicles in the world. That’s probably why car thieves are always trying to get their grubby hands on one. But can you imagine having your car stolen and then finding it 38 years later?

That’s exactly what happened with Eugene Brakke of southern California. He parked his honey-gold 1965 Ford Mustang in front of his Burbank factory one day and never saw it again . . . util last week.

The phone rang, and the voice on the other end was a detective from the San Diego Police Department saying, “We found your car.”

Unfortunately, though, the car fell into the hands of a young girl graduating from high school. Her father bought it for her at a local car dealer for less than $1,200. It was her dream car, and she kept it for more than 35 years. She put thousands of dollars into repairs, including rebuilding the engine recently for $4,000 and some other work to keep it running smoothly.

But when a neighbor pointed out the mismatched tags, she became uneasy. After investigating for months, she learned the car was stolen. She contacted the San Diego Police Department, who then informed her that it was stolen in 1970. The bummer was that the car legally belonged to Eugene Brakke if he wanted to push the issue.

Apparently, he does. The 80-year-old plans on picking up the car when he feels like “fighting the traffic.” When he gets it, he wants to restore the honey-gold color it sported when he bought it instead of the pale blue color that it has now.

I guess the woman who cared for the car and had it through her all-important young adult years is out of luck. If I were in Mr. Brakke’s shoes, I think the right thing to do would be to let her keep it. Don’t you agree?