Salinas >> Before Monday, the last time Lynda Alsip saw her forest-green 1967 Ford Mustang was 28 years ago.

It was her first car. They even shared the same birthday, said Alsip, who was born in 1967. She bought the car for $800 at the age of 17, with a little help from her dad who has since passed away.

But about a year after she bought the car, it was stolen from outside her apartment complex in Salinas. Before she had the chance to install her personalized license plates — “LYNDA 67” — it was gone.

“I never thought I would see it again,” she said standing in a Salinas tow yard next to her car, which was recovered in September by the California Highway Patrol. “It’s like winning the lottery. It happens to very few people and for it to happen to me, it’s just an amazing feeling.”

The car was located at the Salinas’ Department of Motor Vehicles. A man was trying to register the Mustang to his name after having it for about 23 years and doing some work to it.

“It had been out of the system for so long that it came back with no file. All of the files for the vehicle had been purged,” CHP officer Jaime Rios said. “The officer did some digging and found out the car was stolen in 1986 from Salinas.”

Officer Chris Menchen, who did the investigation and recovered the vehicle, said the man said he bought it from a storage and had just come around to registering the vehicle. Officials are still investigating whether or not he knew it was stolen.

Alsip was apprehensive when Menchin first contacted her.

“At first I didn’t think it was going to be a happy call. None of my kids were home, and both are at a driving age. But then he asked me if I had ever had my car stolen and I immediately thought: ‘Oh my god! You found my green 1967 Mustang!,’” Alsip said.

On Monday morning, Alsip reunited with her car. She said sitting in the car “brought back a lot of emotions,” especially now that her father is no longer living.

“It’s very bittersweet, it’s an amazing feeling to get this car back. It’s an amazing blessing. I couldn’t ask for a better Christmas present. It’s unreal,” she said.

Alsip said her father taught her how to change the oil, adding that if it weren’t for him, she may have never been able to afford the car.

If still around, Alsip said, her father would tell her “Only you, kid,” about getting the car back so many years later.

Now, she says she’s “going to put it in the garage so no one can steal it and then get it back to road-worthy condition.”

“This will always be in my possession from here on out,” she said.

But before driving back home, Alsip added a final touch — she was finally able to install her personalized license plates.

Ana Ceballos can be reached at 726-4377.