Towing Issues: vehicle towed then sold to a crushing company without notification, return receipt, tow company

Question
I live in NC. On December 2, 2009, my 1993 Jeep was towed from my girlfriends house because she had moved out and the Jeep was not running. I was going to get the Jeep towed, but the landlord had it towed w/o notifying her. I contacted the to company and told him I didn't have the money right then to get it out. He said I had 90 days before he would get rid of the vehicle. I called him on January 12, 2010 and he told me he had sold the Jeep to a car crushing place and he had the Jeep crushed. He lied and said he had had the Jeep for over 2 months and never heard from me. The Jeep wasn't towed until December 2, it had only been 41 days, a little over 1 month. Was this legal for him not to notify me and have the car crushed? Is there anything I can do legally regarding the loss of my vehicle and title? I am very upset about this as he did not contact me to let me know of his plans to have my 1993 Jeep crushed.

Answer
If you are the registered owner of a vehicle a towing company is required to provide you notification of an abandoned vehicle and prior to any sale of that vehicle. I would recommend going to the tow company without giving them notice and asking for copies of the towing receipt and authorization, a copy of the letter they sent to the state to obtain owner/lien holder information and a copy of the certified letter or return receipt where they sent you notice.