Where there's a will, there's a way. This person probably isn't a car person and would rather jettison the car and leave the trouble to someone else. That's the good news, as their text will probably scare away other non-car people. That car's gorgeous - go get it.
I don't know about other states, but there have been several threads in the past here about getting a car titled. If they can title home-built hot-rods and kit cars, they can title a used car with missing title.
In California, the records are kept for something like 3 years and then tossed. If the VIN does not show on their records or those of other states, the car "does not exist" on the books. It is then up to the applicant to get a title. I think it is more convenient to posess a car with no plates, either, so would not mention them unless "finding" them made things easier.
The method that I like is that used by mechanics, tow companies, and salvage yards (guess who you should be asking locally? what do they do when a car is abandoned or storage or repair bills are outstanding?).
California allows you to hold a lein sale if you post notice to allow a property owner to collect back storage fees for an "abandoned" car. The owner has first right of refusal to pay the fees. If they are uninterested or can't be found, the car can then be put up for a public auction. If nobody comes and makes a bid on the lein that you have placed on the car for storage, you get to keep it, title it, and are then empowered to resell it. That's how I got a basket case 70's motorcycle registered when it had no plates and had been obviously dismantled into little bits for at least 10 years in the basement of the rental property that a buddy inhabited. The process was almost easier timewise than some of the routine things they make you do, like the driver's eyeball test and photo.
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