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+---- Thread: Stolen Centuries-Old Violin Found in L.A. (/thread-214911.html)
- Laettners Legacy - 04-22-2005 10:20 AM
By RYAN PEARSON, Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES - An 18th-century violin reported stolen from an aspiring performer's car was returned by a man who said he found it in a nearby alley while walking his dog, authorities said.
The man, whose name was not released, turned in the $850,000 instrument and bow to police Wednesday in good condition, authorities said Thursday. They were being checked for fingerprints and were expected to be returned Saturday to 20-year-old violinist Lindsay Deutsch.
"Just that it's over is so amazingly good," Deutsch said. "I'm at peace."
Deutsch said a thief pried open a car window and snatched it off the seat while she was grocery shopping Sunday.
"I've been waiting my whole life to get an instrument of this quality, and for it to be gone like this, I didn't think I'd ever get this one back," she said.
The violin was crafted in 1742 by Sanctus Seraphin, the top violin maker of his time in Venice, Italy. It is considered several notches below the instruments made by Antonio Stradivari but one of only about 30 known to be in existence.
The instrument had been loaned to Deutsch two years ago by collector Peter Mandell. Mandell, 36, said his insurance covered nearly every possible contingency — except theft from a vehicle.
"It's just been an emotional roller coaster," Mandell said after the violin was recovered.
Deutsch said she was prepared to work off the debt to Mandell if the instrument was not recovered.
Deutsch's parents had offered a $10,000 reward for the return of the instrument and her father, Derrick Deutsch, said Thursday he would give the money to the finder after an investigation verifies his story.
"At this point he's just a good Samaritan until we find otherwise," said Detective Don Hrycyk of the police department's art theft detail
<a href='http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050422/ap_on_re_us/stolen_violin' target='_blank'>http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...s/stolen_violin</a>
- Laettners Legacy - 04-22-2005 10:20 AM
If I had a $850,000 violin, I would not leave it in the backseat of my car while grocery shopping.