Owner asks for help in finding stolen 1996 Mustang

Patricia Barkley said she had just one more payment and the title to a 1996 Mustang convertible she bought a year ago would be free and clear. Instead, she's driving a borrowed car after the Mustang was stolen from in front of her Century Circle home last week.

"I've never had problems here, but this area's gone to hell," Barkley said Thursday, a week after she woke up to discover the vehicle missing. "Now I know this world's gone to (expletive)."

Barkley said she parked the convertible at 8:20 p.m. Wednesday, July 7. Her neighbor reported seeing it about midnight. By 5:44 a.m. Thursday, the Mustang was gone.

She admits she left the keys under the seat - not such an unusual habit for someone who has lived in Carson City for more than 25 years and remembers the good old days.

Now, she realizes that wasn't the smartest move.

"Now I know," she sighed. "My bad."

Auto thefts in Carson City by strangers still are fairly rare, said Sheriff Ken Furlong. But when it does happen, the best that vehicle owners can hope for is that a deputy spots it during patrols or someone notes a vehicle that seems abandoned or out of place.

So Barkley hopes her neighbors will be on the lookout.

"That's the only thing I had. I only owed $400 more on it," she said.

The Mustang is black, with a black convertible soft top and Nevada license plate 695UYR.

Furlong said if anyone spots the car to call non-emergency dispatch at 887-2007 and tell them you think you found a stolen car.

Carson City Secret Witness will pay up to $2,500 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of individuals committing crimes. If you have any information you can make an anonymous call to 322-4900.