PARIS (AP) – A blue Peugeot 104 stolen in France’s Champagne country in 1979 is being reunited with its owner – 38 years later – after police pulled it, in surprisingly good shape but crawling with crayfish, from a murky swamp.
In a Facebook posting, police said the pond owner alerted officers in Chalons-en-Champagne, 160 kilometers (100 miles) east of Paris, on Monday about the discovery. The car became visible because drought dropped the water level.
Police said the compact four-door hatchback – as much a feature of its time as flared trousers and disco – was four years old and on its third owner when it was declared stolen in the Champagne town of Reims in 1979.
Police said plans are afoot to reunite car and owner in the next few days.