Members of the Vancouver rock band 54-40 are getting one of their cherished guitars back more than two years after it was stolen.
In October of 2018, seven guitars were stolen out of a cube van parked in New Westminster. Five were recovered a short time later, but two of them were still missing.
Last week, an RCMP investigation of a break and enter of a home in Chilliwack led officers to a home Surrey where they seized a cache of stolen goods.
“In total police recovered an estimated value of over $70,000 of property during the search,” said Cpl. Mike Rail.
“We understand the importance of every item to the owners, however a guitar seized during the execution of the search warrant provided an unexpected surprise.”
Chilliwack RCMP identified a Gibson Dove guitar as the sixth missing instrument belonging to 54-40.
The band’s guitarist, Dave Genn is thrilled to have it returned.
“It’s not like losing your lawnmower, unless you’ve got a lawnmower that’s also your muse,” he said.
“They’re the tools of our trade, they are our instruments and in a lot of cases they are our voices.”
Genn called the Gibson was “irreplaceable,” and an extension of his creative life. The theft was a huge loss.
The guitar will be returned to Genn on Friday. It had been with the band for 15 years.
“This is a story that so far has a six out of seven happy ending,” he said.