Car stolen from Strawberry Festival with $10K worth of COVID vaccine found months later, police say

PLANT CITY, Fla. — The car whose theft sparked a nationwide alert due to its precious cargo has been found, police say. 

Back in early February, a car carrying 30 vials of COVID-19 vaccine was stolen from the Strawberry Festival grounds in Plant City. 

The vials had enough vaccine for somewhere between 150 and 180 doses. At the time of the car's theft, only Floridians ages 65 and older were eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine. The theft did not appear to impact vaccine distribution, however.

The car belonged to CDR, which was contracted with the Florida Department of Health in Hillsborough County to provide logistical support for local vaccination efforts, including helping with appointment scheduling and running vaccines from staging sites to vaccination locations.

The stolen car did not have any markings on it that would have indicated it was affiliated with CDR or vaccine delivery efforts.

"CDR has no reason to believe the thief knew the vials were in the car," the organization wrote at the time. "At this point, we do not know the whereabouts of the thief or the vials."

On Thursday, Plant City Police confirmed to 10 Tampa Bay the car and the stolen vaccine vials were found March 27 in the parking lot of an auto parts store in Seffner. 

Because of how long the vaccine went unrefrigerated, the vials were no longer usable, police said. 

Police say they examined the car for prints and DNA and are waiting for the results.

RELATED: Car carrying $10,000 worth of COVID vaccine vials stolen from Strawberry Festival grounds

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