Suspected stolen vehicles found in Turnagain lot

Floyd Hall, a controversial figure with a dogged interest in locating stolen cars, stumbled across a lot in Turnagain containing several vehicles that appear to have been stolen.

The lot on Turnagain Boulevard, surrounded by a wooden fence and many posted signs warning visitors to stay away, is situated in a neighborhood with family homes, a music and arts center, the Girl Scouts' headquarters, and Fish Creek Park.

Hall says he obtained permission from the owner to scour the lot, and in the process, located several Chevy trucks and trailers that had been reported as stolen.

Some trucks were concealed beneath blue tarps, others out in the open in various states of disrepair. One truck, Hall said, had been stripped down to little more than its windshield.

Anchorage Police and tow trucks showed up early Friday morning.

Leslie Gustafson, President and C.E.O. of White Spruce Trailer Sales, says she received a call from police around 3:00 a.m. Friday alerting her that her stolen truck, plow, and trailer had been recovered and were available to come pick up.

Gustafson, whose business has had four thefts since December, did not expect to see the truck again after it was stolen in March.

"They knew where the cameras were," Gustafson said in a phone call with KTUU Friday. "They ducked down. The keys weren't in it, they just drilled into the ignition. They were out of there in minutes, blasting through the fence with the snow plow, kind of 'Dukes and Hazard' style through it."

She sees how overwhelmed police are with responding to vehicle thefts, and is grateful people are keeping their eyes open and reporting suspicious circumstances and possible stolen goods.

"People are watching out for each other and trying to report when their vehicles are found. It's happening so often in this town. I don't know how you keep up with it. It's crazy," Gustafson said.

Hall's efforts as a citizen watchdog

. He's currently

in one case, and for vehicle tampering in another.