It’s not unusual for drivers to forget where the car is parked, but to forget which parking lot it’s in is a different story all together.
That’s what happened to one absent-minded teenager from Syracuse, N.Y. who couldn’t remember which parking garage he parked in after attending a Metallica concert in Toronto on Sunday evening.
Gavin Strickland, 19, drove to Toronto before the sold-out show last weekend and parked his blue-green Nissan Versa Sedan in a downtown parking garage located a short $8-cab ride away from the Rogers Centre concert venue.
After the heavy-metal band’s performance wrapped up, Strickland was unable to retrace his steps back to the garage. He spent the night walking around the city trying to find the lot and his lost car.
“At first I was like, ‘I just forgot where I parked. It’s not a big deal.’ Eventually I started thinking . . . I may never see my car again,” he told CTV News Channel.
Finally, the teenager admitted defeat and called his parents in Syracuse.
Eric Strickland, Gavin’s father, told CTV Toronto on Thursday that the phone conversation was a “tad uncomfortable” but that his son was a “good kid” who just made a mistake.
“He just really kind of screwed up going into a big city not knowing what to do,” Strickland said.
After filing a missing vehicle report with the Toronto police, Strickland’s parents decided to make a public appeal for help via Craigslist.
“Our doofy son parked the car in an indoor parking garage, in the first floor (slightly lower/basement level) but that garage cannot now be located,” part of the post reads. “Please respond with photos of the car and specific location instructions to claim the reward.”
Strickland’s parents then described the vehicle’s make and model, as well as some of its unique features, such as a Bernie Sanders bumper sticker, a small Canadian flag affixed to the door frame and its Florida licence plates.
According to the Craigslist ad, the only nearby landmarks Strickland could recall were: a Starbucks, a construction site, possibly a bank and a “strange spiral outdoor structure.”
‘We found the car’
Lucky for Strickland, a Toronto woman and her boyfriend happened to see his story online and decided to go on a downtown scavenger hunt for his car on Wednesday evening. Madison Riddolls told CP24 on Thursday that she tried to put herself in the shoes of a Syracuse teenager lost in Toronto as they scoured the city’s parking garages.
“I didn’t think so many people would actually go out and try to find my car. I was blown away by the fact that so many people have. It was just a really awesome thing,” Strickland said.
Eventually, Riddolls’ impromptu adventure paid off and the couple were able to locate the sedan in the TD Bank Tower on Wellington Street in the early hours of Thursday morning.
“I had actually seen the green part [of the car] and the maple leaf hanging and I went running,” she recalled. “I turned the corner about to give up. It was midnight. I just wanted some sleep and we found the car.”
The Good Samaritans relayed the good news to the Strickland family and the teen hopped on a bus back to Toronto to pick up his long-lost vehicle.
He admitted to CP24 during a phone call from the bus on Thursday that he found navigating Toronto “overwhelming” and that he waited to tell his parents because he hoped he would be able to find it himself.
“I knew I was in hot water by losing the car,” Strickland said. “They were pretty upset. They eventually put the ad on Craigslist and sure they called me a ‘doofy son,’ but that’s just the way my parents are. They just joke around.”
Strickland called the entire ordeal “one big oops” and said he plans to send Riddolls her $100 reward and give another $100 donation in her name to a charity of her choice. Strickland said Riddolls gave him a map of Toronto for the next time he visits.
It’s not the first “big oops” the teenager has had with a car and a rock concert. Strickland said he accidentally dropped his keys near his car before another show in the U.S. and when he returned the vehicle was gone.
He got lucky that time, too, finding the car where it had been abandoned after a joyride, two blocks away.
Despite his incredible luck, Strickland may want to consider taking the bus to his next rock concert.
