Couple's Car Vanishes After Tow Company Took It Without Permission

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A young couple has been fighting to find their car, which has vanished, they say, after it was illegally taken by a towing company.

After six months of fighting to get it back, they still have no idea where the car has gone.

Ellis Douglas and Iesha Faye Rankin were thrilled after buying their first car. However, 17 days after bringing it home in February, a drunk driver hit it and several other cars near 53rd and California.

The car, they say, was badly damaged.

Douglas says a tow truck driver from 360 Recovery in Blue Island appeared and asked if they wanted it towed. Douglas, 21, signed a consent, but then changed his mind.

The driver left without the car.

Two days later, their parked car was gone.

"We were sure it was legally parked," said Rankin.

The couple tracked it to 360 Recovery's lot, but the manager refused to released it.

Eventually, attorney Phyllis Rice got involved and she got a judge's order to get the car. Workers confirmed the car was in the lot.

However, when Cook County Sheriff's deputies went with the couple to get the car, it had vanished.

Ellis and Rankin believe it has been stolen.

Meantime, managers for 360 Recovery have failed to appear in court and letters to them have gone unanswered.

The company could not be reached for comment. It is currently the subject on an ongoing investigation by the Cook County state's attorney's office.

Rice calls the company's actions "predatory."

Adding to the frustration: In 2012, a judge issued a five-year injunction against the owner of the Blue Island property, banning its use as a tow lot. So, the car should have never been taken there in the first place.