35-year car hunt

January 25, 2019

It has been almost 35 years since Albert Brewster last saw his beloved Ford Capri motor car and the elderly man is on a mission to find out happened to it.

It is evident that Brewster had a connection with the vehicle and the memory of the incident that led to its disappearance is still fresh in his mind.

The WEEKEND STAR first highlighted Brewster’s plight in 1985, when the disgruntled man complained that the vehicle he shipped to Jamaica vanished without a trace.

He stated that after it reached Jamaican shores, he was told that he could not clear it because it was deemed as being too old to be imported here.

“I had decided to ship the car to Jamaica because I really loved it. I had other vehicles but I felt attached to that one because I had spent a lot of money to modify it. I had plans to return to Jamaica so I sent it out and I knew it got to Jamaica because I saw it on the dock. But when I went to clear it, I couldn’t, as I was told that the government bans the importation of cars 10 years and older,” he said.

A disappointed Brewster said that he had no other choice except to pay for the black and brown Capri to be shipped back to Miami on a ship in March 1984.

But when he returned to the US, the vehicle was nowhere to be found.

“It’s like the car disappeared in thin air. I came back to Jamaica, hired an attorney and took the matter to Supreme Court and nothing happened really. It’s like I am supposed to just forget about it. I remember even the licence plate on the vehicle,” he said

He re-emphasised that all he is seeking is closure and hopes that one day he would really know what happened to his Ford Capri.

“I know although I had spent a lot of money to get the car to Jamaica and back to the States again, I will not get it back but I would like some form of closure. I work very hard ... my money is earned through hard work and not drugs, and to be cheated in the land of my birth is really just overwhelming,” he said.

Added to his car woes, the 72-year old man said he got another raw deal from Jamaica as US$500 went missing from his bank account in 2011 and the particular institution has refused to reimburse him.

“I have my passport as proof that I was not in Jamaica when that transaction was made. I don’t bank electronically so I would have had to walk in the bank and sign for that $500. I am certain that I did not withdraw it because I have never withdrawn from that account,” he said.

But in a letter dated August 7, 2018, the financial institution said that after conducting an investigation, it was satisfied that the transaction was made by him. Brewster said he would be filing a lawsuit against the bank.

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