Various items of rock ‘n’ roll memorabilia that were stolen from the late Randy Rhoads‘ personal collection have been located by a Los Angeles resident.
BC7 News reported Monday that L.A. local Bobbi Fredriksz says she found some of the missing items — taken from the museum of Rhoads’ family’s Hollywood-based music institute, the Musonia School of Music — in a Hollywood Boulevard dumpster on Sunday.
The report comes only a few days after the news of the robbery went viral.
Though the crime took place on U.S. Thanksgiving evening, heavy metal icon Ozzy Osbourne only made his fanbase aware of it over the weekend by posting the missing items along with a lengthy message to various social media platforms.
The 71-year-old headbanger offered a US$25,000 reward to anyone who could locate the stolen possessions of his former bandmate or provide information leading to the conviction of the perpetrator.
Fredriksz is the first individual reported to have found any of the items from Rhoads’ collection. She said she spotted a guitar and photos in a dumpster when walking her dog early Sunday morning.
Fredriksz admitted to not thinking anything of the items until she saw a report about the theft on ABC7.
Though the specifics of the located memorabilia weren’t listed, an image shared by ABC7 News shows that among the rediscovered items were various framed photographs, several small instrument cases and an amplifier.
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Rhoads’ first-ever guitar — a 1963 Harmony Rocket — however, was not shown in the image. It is perhaps the most valuable item that was once proudly displayed in the Musonia museum.
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A rare prototype No. 1 or 2 series Randy Rhoads signature Marshall head was also reported stolen, along with Rhoads’ original 1970s Peavey amp head, which he used during his time with Quiet Riot.
Rhoads’ late mother Delores Rhoads’ first trumpet was stolen as well. It was from the pre-war era and given to her as a child by her father during the Great Depression.
The trumpet helped launch her career as a musician before she opened the Musonia, later inspiring Randy to play music.
“I am heartbroken that these treasured physical memories of Randy and Delores have been taken from the family,” Osborne wrote after the items were stolen.
“As you can imagine, the items that were stolen, including Randy’s first electric guitar, are irreplaceable to the Rhoads Family.”
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After some of the items had been located, Rhoads’ nephew, Nick D’Argenzio, told ABC7 that the entire family is grateful to Osbourne for making people aware of the crime.
“We’re really thankful the Osbournes sent a message out to the community yesterday,” he said. “I think that’s what spread the word further.”
Along with Rhoads’ brother Kelle Rhoads, D’Argenzio continues to help run the Musonia.
The world-renowned school was founded in 1948 by Delores and has become “something of a pilgrimage” to rock ‘n’ roll fans across the globe since Randy’s rise to fame alongside Osbourne in the 1980s.
Though his time in the limelight was short-lived, Rhoads is best known for his work on two of Osbourne’s much-beloved solo albums, Blizzard of Ozz (1980) and Diary of a Madman (1981), before his tragic death in a plane crash on March 19, 1982.
Anyone with information regarding the remaining stolen goods is encouraged to contact Nick D’Argenzio at 818-281-7893 or nickdargenzio@gmail.com.
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