(A) If any vehicle is found by any police officer abandoned on the public streets, it shall be his duty to cause the vehicle to be removed and conveyed to a garage designated by the Police Chief. The owner or person in whose name the vehicle is registered shall be given immediate personal notice or notice by certified mail, if his address can be ascertained.
(B) If the address of the owner cannot be ascertained, then the Police Chief shall advertise that the car has been abandoned and impounded, giving an accurate description thereof, the name of the person licensed to operate it and the circumstances under which the same was found and removed and calling upon the owner to reclaim the same within 30 days. Notice shall be published once a week for four consecutive weeks in a locally distributed newspaper. If the vehicle is not reclaimed after the advertisement, then the same shall be sold for cash to the highest bidder at the place as may be designated therefor.
(C) The expenses of removing, keeping, advertising and selling the vehicle shall be paid from the proceeds of the sale. The balance, if any, shall be deposited with the Clerk-Treasurer, subject to the claim of the owner to be filed and proven within 12 months thereafter. If no claim is filed and proven within that time, the proceeds shall be forfeited. The Police Chief shall keep a record of the vehicle, the name of the registered owner, the license tag and the circumstances under which it was found, impounded, stored and sold.
(‘88 Code, § 18.409)