Hey all!  Good news - my van was recovered unscathed.  The police found it late yesterday parked
downtown somewhere.  So far all I can see is a couple personal items missing like a pair of
rollerblades.  No damage to the van I can see.
There was a sopping wet sweatshirt left in the van and my long-sleeve t-shirt is missing.  It was
raining hard that night so I think a street person found a good home.  I remembered I had left a key
inserted in a lock cylinder to save it and it was in the bottom of the glove compartment, so they
found that and took off with the car.
The extortion racket got me for $192 for towing and "storage" at a yard about 10 miles from
downtown.
Well, thanks all for your suggestions and your help and have a great day.
-Hans