I would go to his bank with him, verify his story, see if they can stop payment it and make out a new one. You then have him call wherever he has it financed, get the payoff amount. Both of you go to your next day air mailer of your choice, ship the payoff amount to the lienholder, make sure there is a letter in there signed by him stating the title is to be mailed to you. The lienholder can give you the working of the letter, it can be handwritten, does not need a Notary, so make sure you bring him a piece of paper to write this on.
Something does not sound right.
