READER REPORT: Anybody missing this Outback? (update: solved)

6:19 PM: Sometimes wrecked cars turn up on streets because they were stolen and dumped. Sometimes their owner got into a crash somewhere else and has the car towed as an interim measure. Charlie says this Subaru Outback’s appearance on an Admiral block remains a mystery, and 911 just said to file an online report, so they asked us to publish it in case someone’s looking for it:

This smashed-up car showed up on our block sometime yesterday. All windows are down, car seats loose in rear cargo. Seems abandoned to me. Perhaps someone is looking for it.

Let us know if it’s yours.

7:06 PM: Mystery solved – see comments.

def June 13, 2026 (6:26 pm)

That’s a ham license plate. Unless the car was recently sold or the plates were stolen from another vehicle, the owner should be very easy to locate. I just looked it up and got a name and address, but I’m not going to post them here.

Mary June 13, 2026 (6:40 pm)

License plate is a ham radio call sign. Google is your friend.

Mike June 13, 2026 (6:44 pm)

Tabs renewed in January. That’s gotta have some value right there

Charlie June 13, 2026 (7:03 pm)

Owner ID’d and contacted. Thanks for the ham radio tip!

Curious June 14, 2026 (8:26 am)

Still wondering how the car ended up in that condition at that location and whether it was stolen?

Filing an online report for abandoned/72 hour parking often takes weeks for response and 911 will not reveal if a car has been reported stolen.

WSB June 14, 2026 (9:29 pm)

According to the person who sent us the sighting, it was towed there from a crash scene, though the owner lives some blocks away and that’s why checking around the neighborhood didn’t yield any leads initially.