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Wedding singer says thieves broke into car, stole acoustic guitar

Updated  October 3, 2019 8:54pm EDT
Philadelphia
FOX 29 Philadelphia

Wedding singer says thieves broke into car, stole acoustic guitar

FOX 29's Bruce Gordon spoke with the singer/songwriter who says her expensive guitar was stolen after a wedding reception Saturday.

PHILADELPHIA - A  wedding singer is hoping someone comes forward to help her find her acoustic guitar she says was stolen. 

“I had to come back up and file the police report," Washington, D.C.-based singer/songwriter Audrey Snow told FOX 29.

When a wedding ceremony and reception at the Ridgeland Mansion at Fairmount Park ended, Snow and her fiancé loaded her equipment into their car. They left it locked and parked in what they thought was a secure lot outside the venue. Then, they headed to their hotel.  They returned the next morning to find their car window essentially peeled off.

“And your heart sinks a little deeper and then you look in the back and everything was gone," Snow explained.

The thieves made off with a load of sound equipment and Audrey’s beloved acoustic guitar, which is a pricey Martin HD-35.

“I mean, $3,500 isn’t cheap, but also sentimentally it’s really important to me. I’ve played a lot of gigs with it. Yeah, it’s been through a lot with me," Snow said. “I’m thinking it probably is someone that’s going to pawn it for money.”

It happens more than you might think and reputable pawn shops spend a fair amount of time trying to beat the thieves.

Pawn Shop Philadelphia on Jeweler’s Row buys instruments all the time, but there’s a process, according to manager Austin Shvarts.

“If someone comes in, we make them give ID, we do a picture of them and we do a thumbprint. We report it all to the police and we tell the customer that," Shvarts said.

If the instrument or any item comes up as stolen, the pawn shop may be out of the money they paid.

“It doesn’t happen often but when it does happen it’s aggravating," Shvarts said.

So you’re looking to do everything you can to make sure the transactions are legit that these are not stolen items," Gordon asked.  Shvarts replied, “Absolutely, I want nothing to do with stolen items.”

Snow posted on her Facebook page a complete list of her stolen gear, serial numbers and all. She’s still performing in her hometown of Cape May, New Jersey, this Saturday but without her precious Martin HD 35, it’s not the same.