SF Police recover vintage heirloom months after theft

SF Police recover a stolen vintage Mercedes Benz months after it's stolen; the story behind the family heirloom

San Francisco Police recover a vintage Mercedes Benz months after it was stolen. The grateful family who owned it shares the story behind the heirloom.

SAN FRANCISCO - A San Francisco woman received a family heirloom back months after it was stolen.

It was a classic car; a 1970 Mercedes-Benz 280 SL.

Police said this was a rare recovery because stolen vehicles gone for more than 30 days are usually never located.

But this case was an exception.

The backstory:

The Mercedes belonged to Karin Chin and her family. Her beloved late uncle, Robert Chin, had left the vehicle and home to them.

"He used to take me to school in it," said Karen.

She described her uncle as "an old school San Francisco" man whom she was very close to.

Then last November, thieves broke into Chin's home in San Francisco's Diamond Heights and stole the Mercedes.

Months passed, and police investigators said they worked on sporadic leads.

In June, the police tracked down the Mercedes as it was being prepared for shipping at a facility in the city of Richmond.

Karen said she was surprised. 

"We thought it was pretty much gone. Eight months later that they're still working on it, it's pretty miraculous," she said.

The Mercedes reminded Karen of her uncle.

The license plate bears the name of Robert Chin's well-known San Francisco Chinatown nightclub, "Rickshaw Bistro", that made newspaper headlines with its celebrity clientele.

Karen's uncle hosted San Francisco Giants superstar Willie McCovey, Warriors great Nate Thurmond, and Grammy award-winning singer Al Jarreau to name a few.

"I was just thankful that the police did a great job," said Karen.

The Investigation:

Police say leads came in sporadically over several months, and the information they developed led to the break in the case.

In June, the DMV contacted investigators after someone tried to register the stolen Mercedes, and it was being prepared for export to the Netherlands.

Police have arrested two men. 

"Persistence, relentless, professionalism. This is one small example of what our investigators do every day," said Officer Robert Rueca, a spokesperson for the San Francisco Police Department.

Karen says the family ended up selling the Mercedes to the buyer who was duped by the thieves. 

But what she's still hoping to recover is the specialized "RIKSHA" license plate named for her uncle's nightclub. The plate was not on the Mercedes when it was found.

"It was a great memory of all those times. I was too young to go into the club most of the time until later on," said Karen. 

Police said this case is still an active and open investigation.

Amber Lee is a reporter with KTVU. Email Amber at Amber.Lee@Fox.com or text/leave a message at 510-599-3922. Follow her on Facebook @AmberKTVU,  Instagram @AmberKTVU  or Twitter @AmberKTVU