Crash-Test Dummy Freed Man Says He Bought ‘Vince,’ Returned It After Hearing About Theft
The search is over. Vince is free.
An unidentified man liberated the famous crash-test dummy Tuesday, three days after someone kidnapped him from a Spokane family values fair.
Vince, a nationally known spokesman for seat belt use, is actually a $1,500 costume worn by actors at safety fairs and other promotions.
Someone snatched Vince from a closet at the Spokane Convention Center on Saturday, shortly after he and Larry made an appearance at the annual Family-A-Fair.
He then was peddled on Spokane’s black market.
The man who turned Vince over told Family-A-Fair officials he bought the costume “from some kid on the street corner,” said Adie Goldberg-Yates, Family-A-Fair co-director.
The man didn’t say how much he paid or what he intended to do with the costume, Goldberg-Yates said.
Friends theorized Vince was destined to spend the rest of his days as a Halloween costume.
Vince’s benefactor found out he was hoarding hot goods after reading an article detailing the kidnapping in Tuesday’s Spokesman-Review, Goldberg-Yates said.
The man wrapped Vince in a brown paper bag - as requested in the article - and delivered him to the Family-A-Fair office about 11 a.m.
He disappeared without giving his name.
Vince’s liberation is good news not only for Larry and seat belt crusaders, but also for Spokane County taxpayers.
County traffic officials borrowed the Vince and Larry costumes from the Washington Traffic Safety Commission especially for last weekend’s Family-A-Fair.
, DataTimes