This is a great ethical dilemma. I see both sides. It is obvious that the owner was another delusional inept moron who was never going to touch this abandoned project. Owner did not even live at the property. The van was clearly going to disintegrate into the earth, and was left for dead. Someone comes along and steals it, and restores it. It clearly owned by the owner, but damn, you know he would never have even gotten $200 for scrap metal from it.
https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2019/05/17/plea-deal-infuriates-owner-of-the-wild-cherry-van?