Violins found in Montreal 16 years after being stolen

MONTREAL – Quebec provincial police have cracked a 16 year old cold case.

Two violins, one of them believed to be a Stradivarius, were stolen from the trunk of a car on Sainte-Catherine street.

Now, police say they can finally put the case to rest.

“We received a tip earlier in the year that brought us to a home on Henri-Julien street,” said Sergeant Claude Denis with the Sûreté du Québec (SQ).

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The SQ has been working with the RCMP’s Integrated Art Crime Investigation Team to recover the stolen instruments.

Denis confirmed the two violins were found in a closet during a raid at the Rosemont-La-Petite-Patrie home last week.

One of the violins was marked with the word “Stradivarius,” apparently dating back to 1685.

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Investigators admit they don’t know if the violin is authentic or not.

“Our object was just to find the violins,” said Denis.

“We will return them to the owner soon. They can decide if they want to do an evaluation or not.”

Until then, the instruments will remain in police custody.

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The 50 year-old suspect is known to police and will probably face criminal charges.