When it comes to making big purchases in a life, a car ranks high on the list. So it made sense -- after handing over $5,800 in cash -- that Dale Chumbley's wife wanted to document the moment by taking a picture.

Nothing too fancy, just a shot showing her husband and the seller sealing the deal by shaking hands.

But take a closer look at the photo.It gave authorities the break they needed to make an arrest in what probably is one of the city's strangest stolen car cases.

The guy selling the white Scion that day in October 2012 is the one with the beard.

During the past nine months, Chumbley examined that photo. In hindsight, everything's clear.

"He's looking at the ground," said Dale Chumbley said. "He wouldn't look at me. I put my hand out, and he had to shake my hand. But I don't think he wanted to."

It turned out the car Chumbleys bought that day was stolen, police said. Authorities seized it when they ran into trouble trying to register it. Not only was the couple out the purchase price, but they lost an additional $100 spent having the car detailed.

The seller had met the Chumbleys in a parking lot at

to finalize the deal, so Chumbley couldn't provide police any details about where the seller lived. A cellphone number Chumbley used to contact the man went nowhere.

Last month, with the case at a dead end, police released the hand-shake photo to the

program to see if the public could help them find the mysterious seller. Someone phoned in a tip, and on Wednesday night, Portland detectives arrived at a home in the 2400 block of Northeast 28th Avenue and arrested Lucas Dean Weisensee, 22.

Weisensee faces eight felony allegations: computer crime, first-degree forgery, identity theft, first-degree possession of a forged instrument, possession of a stolen motor vehicle, first-degree theft, trafficking of a stolen motor vehicle and unlawful use of a motor vehicle.

Lucas Dean Weisensee

"This is a unique case," said Portland police Sgt. Pete Simpson. "The photograph solved the case. I never would have thought about taking a photo of someone during a large cash transaction. I have to say that even as a police officer, this case gives me pause. I might end up taking pictures."

It began last year when Chumbley started looking for a car because he and his wife, Stephanie, who live in Vancouver, wanted to downsize and get a more economical car.

"I'd been dreaming about a Scion for years," he said. "But they're hard to find.

Then he spotted one on Craigslist.

“I saw this beautiful white one on Monday morning, and immediately called to set up a meeting. The man selling said he lived in Scappoose,” he said. “Jantzen Beach seemed like a good public place to meet. He showed up and we test drove the car. I made an offer and he accepted. He signed over the title, gave us the keys and a bill of sale. He had us drop him off at a store where he said his wife was going to pick him up.”

Chumbley dropped the car off at a detail shop, picked it up that afternoon and went to register the car in Vancouver.

"The lady at the counter told me to hang on," Chumbley said. "She came back with her boss and said I needed the original title. My stomach had dropped. I thought I had an original title. I've never seen a title from Oregon."

Some car-buying tips

If you're buying a used car, authorities suggest you take these precautions:

Take the paperwork

to the DMV with the seller to make sure the car isn't stolen.

Take photos of all documents.

Take photos

of the seller's driver's license.

Chumbley called the numbers the seller had used, but got no answer.

He called Oregon authorities and they told him to bring the car to the

headquarters the next day. Troopers ran the Scion's vehicle identification numbers and told Chumbley the car had been reported stolen.

"They confiscated the car," Chumbley said. "It made sense. I expected that."

A Portland police officer told the Chumbleys the car had been reported stolen the day he'd bought it, from the 2700 block of Northeast 27th Avenue.

They turned over the title, paperwork, keys and photograph Stephanie Chumbley had taken.

And then the Chumbleys walked away.

"We got none of our money back," Chumbley said.

Three weeks ago, the couple finally saved up enough money to buy a car.

It wasn't a Scion.

"My wife can't even stand to look at one," Chumbley said. "And when she sees a white one she cries."

--Tom Hallman Jr.