Editor’s note: Police have located the missing vehicle, Palo Alto Detective Sergeant Brian Philip said Wednesday, July 2. The car was found unoccupied in Los Angeles. It is being recovered and returned to the owner, Philips said, and police will continue to investigate the theft.
Police are looking for a blue 2013 two-door Bentley Continental GT convertible — which has a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of just under $177,000 — that was reported stolen from the 800 block of Stanford Avenue in Palo Alto last Friday.
Palo Alto Detective Sergeant Brian Philip said an initial report stated the car had been parked for a “significant amount of time, six weeks or something,” though he didn’t yet know if the owner had reparked it in the same area or if it hadn’t been moved during that time.
Residential Palo Alto streets generally have a 72-hour limit on continuous parking.
The car was noticed missing when the owner went to retrieve it just after 8 p.m. on Friday, June 27, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
The car registration had a Menlo Park address, Philips said. Police are planning to re-contact the owner to get more information, he added.
“Just because it’s a Bentley doesn’t make it a priority,” Philip said. “It’s a priority because it’s unique enough that somebody could actually (identify) it as opposed to a generic vehicle.”
The vehicle’s license plate number is 6ZVP247. Police are asking that anyone with information about the theft call the department’s 24-hour dispatch center at 650-329-2413. Tipsters who wish to remain anonymous can text or call 650-383-8984, or email paloalto@tipnow.org.
By Elena Kadvany
By Elena Kadvany
By Elena Kadvany
It was the best of times: He found a parking space for his Bentley. It was the worst of times: His Bentley vanished.
This police report makes a great start for a novel. Crime genre? True romance? Palo Alto satire? Morality tale?
Why would someone who lives in Menlo Park leave their car in Palo Alto for six weeks–us garaged at that?
Uh, that s/b “ungaraged”.
Maybe it was towed. In EPA parking Enforcement gets more police attention than gunshots. is that not so in Palo Alto as well?
Of course it isn’t.
Could be the overnight parking rules in Menlo Park — if it’s true it’s been parked there for a long time.
Should have been put in a garage, if you are going to be away for a long time.
Very strange story. If instead of a Bentley, an old run down car were left parked on a street for several months, you can bet someone would have reported it to the Police and it would have been towed. But perhaps a Bentley is considered an asset to a neighborhood and so parking it on a street for several weeks pleases the neighbors.
Sorry I meant to say weeks, not months.
I saw a two door Bentley Continental GT convertible in front of the Garden Court Hotel last night at about 11:05 pm. It was parked in the driveway so I am sure that the Hotel’s Valets could identify the license plate. Do you think it could be the same one?
Since they ban overnight parking in Menlo Park, I wonder how many other cars are stored on Palo Alto streets
Is there any proof that the car was really stolen, other than the owner’s say so? Sounds like an insurance scam to me. Parking a car like that on the street for 6 weeks. Right.
@Moi: merci beaucoup. Who parks a car like that on the street?
Insurance Fraud
Why would someone leave a Bentley park on the streets for weeks? I’d like more information on the owner of the vehicle in question. This person should be donating to the Page Mill YMCA or Abilities United. As a matter of fact I can help him or her put six figures to great use.
This would be a great one for the Post’s Atherton Police Blotter. Menlo Park resident reports 2013 Bently stolen from a Palo Alto street. Police searched for the vehicle and found it had been towed to the impound lot after being abandoned for six weeks.
We had a neighbor who owned seven cars, but “only” ( poor guy) had a four car garage. One of his many vehicles was a Ferrari, which often sat out on our narrow street for days at a time. He rotated which cars sat on the street and which ones were garaged, so we saw the Ferrari as often as we saw the truck and van!
Were it me, the Ferrari would NEVER sit out on the street, but I am not hopelessly wealthy. This guy owned three businesses and a winery. When he finally sold his home, the parking congestion on the street was eased a bit.
Perhaps the Bentley owner is so rich he does not think $177,000 is too much too lose.
Just cause you got money doesnt mean you have common sense. hell its a tax write off!!!
Obviously, the Bentley owner has more money than sense; there is a high concentration of such people on the peninsula.
The Bently was found in Los Angeles. I`m certain a person of color wasn’t driving that baby.