Instrumental theft
Sydney man left wondering where his musical instruments have gone
A Sydney music teacher is hoping whoever took his musical instruments returns them soon.
Stephen McDougall, 31, noticed his violin, classical guitar, banjo and dobro were missing from his former Sydney home last week.
“I don’t know when it happened,” McDougall said Wednesday. “They weren’t instruments I was using every day, so I can’t pinpoint an exact date but I noticed they were gone last Thursday or Friday. I filed the police report last Friday. I made a poster on Sunday and put it on Facebook that night.”
What’s further compounding the mystery is the fact that there was no forced entry into that home. If there had been, he probably would have noticed the theft immediately.
“I really want to believe it was no one that was invited to the house but it’s more likely a situation where I walked out the door and forgot to lock it and somebody may have been watching or was trying their luck and got lucky,” he said.
McDougall had the violin since he was 10 years old.
“I’ve had that for 20-plus years and that’s really special. There’s a mark right below the peg box. When I was in junior high it fell off of my bed and the head fell off so there’s a mark on the violin where you can see where it was reattached, so it’s a very unique mark,” he said.
“The banjo was a Christmas gift from my father about 10 years ago — a Fender banjo. There was a Ramirez R1 classical guitar — that was not a cheap instrument — that’s what I was using when I studied music at Acadia and that was my instrument. And then there was the dobro guitar that was a gift from my grandfather — he’s moved into an assisted living apartment — him and my grandmother and when they were moving, they had to downsize so … the dobro was given to me.”
MacDougall gives lessons during the school year as well as plays weddings, in addition to working a full-time job. Without the instruments, he admits it will be difficult to continue with those parts of his musical life.
“I’ve got a lot of great friends and family who are more than happy to loan me some of their extra instruments until I find mine or can replace them,” he said, adding that it still hurts to have them gone.
“It’s everything. Especially the violin, more than the other three instruments, because of how long I’ve had it — it’s not a laptop, it’s not a TV, it’s an instrument that I’ve had for 20-plus years and I’ve taken it everywhere with me and I didn’t leave town without it. I’ve played it everywhere. It’s part of who I am, that violin. They do become a part of who you are. “If you have any information on the missing instruments, contact MacDougall at 902-322-0303.