What you do is you tell Shannon that you bought the car but the log book has been lost for a long time or the owner is unreachable and its being sold by the family.

They send a letter to the registered address and the registered owner has 21 days or something similar to reply saying they want to object to the change of ownership or if they don't respind Shannon send you the log book.

You also need an affidavit from a legal eagle and a letter from the manufacturer to say that the car with the Licence plate is such a car.

We had to do something similar for her E60 as the owner emigrated just after we bought and the lug book was lost so technically coulnt apply for replacement because the owner has to sign in person.

There's a process to kick it off, call Shannon and explain and they send some forms to you.