A teenager from New York has been reunited with his car in Toronto after a five-day search that included classified ads, random strangers and the police.
Gavin Strickland drove from Syracuse, N.Y. to Toronto in his blue Nissan Versa for the Metallica concert on Sunday. He parked it in a downtown parking garage and then took an $8 cab ride to the Rogers Centre.
But after the concert, the 19-year-old couldn’t remember where he parked the car.
“I thought it got stolen,” Strickland told Global News. “So I basically searched for my car from Sunday night to Tuesday evening.
“I filed a police report because I thought the car was stolen. I slept on the street on park benches.”
Strickland’s father Eric bought him the car a year ago, which is why he stayed so long in the city to search for the car.
“It’s not like I live with him, my dad lives alone, but I just knew he’d be pretty upset about it,” he said with a laugh. “I wanted to make sure if I could find it just so I didn’t have to say anything about it.”
He ended up admitting his mistake and taking a bus home to Syracuse on Tuesday – where his parents decided to take the search online, with a Craigslist ad.
“Our doofy son parked the car in an indoor parking garage … but that garage cannot now be located,” the ad, posted that same day read.
In maybe the most generic description of downtown Toronto, they said it was “near a Starbucks where there is some construction going on. Also nearby is allegedly a strange spiral outdoor sculpture, and possibly a bank – maybe RBC?”
Along with the description of the car (it had Florida plates, a Canadian flag on the door frame and a Bernie Sanders bumper sticker), Strickland’s parents offered a $100 reward.
Asked if Strickland thought it was a good idea: “I figured why not, maybe it will help out.”
“Then it turned out like all these search parties were trying to find my car and I thought it was pretty awesome,” he said.
After nearly two days – the family heard good news.
“THE CAR HAS BEEN FOUND THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR HELP!” the updated ad now reads.
The ad’s generic description helped Madison Riddolls and her boyfriend find the car Wednesday night.
“They had given us a few clues that it said near a Starbucks, possibly near a bank…we’re literally in the heart of the financial district. A lot of construction and a spiral structure,” Riddolls said.
WATCH: New York teen loses car after Toronto car. Shallima Maharaj reports.
She found it in a parkade along Wellington Street.
“The Canadian flag that’s on part of the car I saw and I kind of ran for it,” she said.
There was a warning note from Impark on the windshield. They’ll be reducing the fine Strickland has to pay for taking up the spot for so long to only $20.
Strickland spoke to Global News when he was on a bus back to Toronto to pick up the car and meet the woman who found it.
“I think it’s pretty awesome actually. I mean, it kind of shows people that we’re human and it’s OK to make mistakes, in my opinion,” he said.
“I was at a concert last night in my hometown, and my parents sent me the text and I was really relieved.”
With files from Shallima Maharaj
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