The 13 ounces of crack cocaine discovered by an Iosco Township man while fixing a SUV could have originated from a number of places in the state, according to the Livingston County Sheriff's Department.

The crack was found hidden on Dec. 29 under the gear shift covers of a gold 2000 Kia Sportage SUV that the 49-year-old Iosco Township man had just bought from a salvage yard.

Police estimated the street value of the crack cocaine at more than $38,000.

The SUV was originally owned by and registered to an Ohio man. He had driven it to Detroit in Sept. 2001 when it was stolen on the city's east side. It was recovered a few days later.

Police confirmed that it was the stolen SUV by matching the vehicle identification numbers. The Livingston County Sheriff's Department is unsure where or how it was recovered.

The SUV was sold to a large California salvage company located just east of Sacramento, but the SUV never left Michigan. The SUV was then sold to a Flint auction company, which sold it to a Romeo salvage business.

Even though its title was passed around by several businesses, the SUV stayed in one secured area for most of the time.

"The whole time, the vehicle stayed up in Flint while the title was being passed around," Sheriff's Department Deputy Bill Schuster said.

The Iosco Township man bought the SUV for his son from the Romeo business. After it had been towed to his home, he noticed it would not shift into park and decided to investigate why. A few minutes later, he found the crack cocaine.

Schuster suspects the crack was hidden in the SUV shortly after it was stolen but adds it could have been put into the SUV at any time after that. He also said an accidental find like this is very rare.

After speaking with the Detroit Police Department, which has closed its end of the case, the Sheriff's Department is closing the case.

The crack will be destroyed through incineration.