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Tulsa, OK - Donnie Oakes and his mother were helping a friend get ready for a garage sale when he made an interesting discovery. He found a silver medal, a plaque, a Romanian bobsled pin and a team flag.
The story of how the awards made it to Oklahoma provides much of the mystery.
According to Oakes, the original owner was hitchhiking in West Virginia in the early 1970's in the cold. A couple picked him up and drove him as far as they could. When they finally arrived at their destination, they discovered the medals in the backseat of their car. With no way to find the mysterious traveler, the prizes got tucked into a box and shelved away.
After some research, we discovered that the silver medal from the 1969 FIBT World Championship in was awarded to the 2 man Romanian bobsled team. The team was made up of Ion Panturu and Dumitru Focseneanu.
That same pair would go on to win the bronze medal at the same Championship in Lake Placid in 1973.
NewsChannel 8 is still working to track down the rightful owner of the medal and other awards.
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