SF man's car is stolen. Redditors track it down in hours.

A couple of local Redditors helped Sebastiaan de With track down his rare Land Rover that had been stolen. A couple of local Redditors helped Sebastiaan de With track down his rare Land Rover that had been stolen. Photo: Sebastiaan De With Photo: Sebastiaan De With Image 1 of / 17 Caption Close SF man's car is stolen. Redditors track it down in hours. 1 / 17 Back to Gallery

When Sebastiaan de With realized his car was missing from the parking lot he had left it in, his heart sank.

The freelance designer and photographer had just bought the 1991 Land Rover Defender from Texas in September and driven it cross-country back to San Francisco with his wife. On Friday, when the couple wanted to go pick up a Christmas tree, they found the car missing from its space in a North Beach garage.

De With said he filed a police report but didn't want to wait idly as officers investigated. He put a call out on Twitter and Facebook Monday asking San Franciscans to keep an eye out for the rare car.

Late Monday night, he decided to post on Reddit.

"I thought it'd be pointless to post it, but on the other hand, I really wanted to find my car," de With said. "They're extremely hard cars to find in the U.S., and I was waiting on an appraiser to come around to get full coverage, full-value insurance. So it being gone meant I had absolutely nothing, not even a claim payout."

When Pablo Delarosa saw de With's call for help on Reddit, it triggered a memory.

"I immediately recognized it," Delarosa said. He had seen the car Saturday outside of Jake's Steaks on Buchanan Street near Lombard Street. At the time, he said two men appeared to be working on the car.

"You don't usually see them and I noticed that it had Texas plates, so it got my attention a little more since I'm from there," said Delarosa, who's from Houston but now lives in San Francisco's Marina District.

He posted a reply to the Reddit post with specific details about exactly where he had spotted the car Saturday.

Even more help came from Nick Ghirardelli, a real estate developer who also lives in the Marina, and saw de With's Reddit post while eating breakfast Tuesday morning. A few hours later, Ghirardelli spotted the car on his way back from the gym.

He stood next to the Land Rover and called the police to report he had found it. While he was on hold, he messaged de With and told him the good news.

"My heart suddenly started beating in my throat," said de With. "I jumped on the bike and roared down there and met him. Sure enough, that was it."

Police eventually arrived on scene, searched the car and collected fingerprints, de With said. He described the car as "a bit trashed, but recoverable." The ignition and steering column had been damaged, the gas filler cap destroyed, and the rear brakes appeared to be broken.

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De With said he's still awaiting word from the mechanic on the full extent of the damage.

Regardless, he's happy to have his prized possession back and surprised that a post on Reddit is to thank. The two Good Samaritans who helped track down the Land Rover were equally surprised.

"I would have thought it would have been sitting on a container ship somewhere," Delarosa said. "The power of social media is crazy."

Ghirardelli couldn't even believe it while it was happening. As he waited next to the stolen Land Rover, he took pictures and screenshots of his conversations.

"I told my friend, 'I guess I solved a crime today.' He didn't believe it was real."

Read Alix Martichoux's latest stories and send her news tips at amartichoux@sfchronicle.com.