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Police in Atlantic City recovered a custom-built Telecaster guitar belonging to Heart’s Nancy Wilson, stolen two weeks ago. A vintage 1966 Gibson EM-50 mandolin is still missing.
Police recover stolen vintage custom-built Telecaster guitar belonging to Heart’s Nancy Wilson.
Atlantic City police announced on Tuesday that they have recovered one of the two unique instruments owned by members of the rock band Heart that were stolen from a venue in New Jersey two weeks prior, as the group was gearing up for a nationwide tour.
The retrieved item is a purple sparkle baritone Telecaster guitar with a hand-painted headstock, custom-made for band member Nancy Wilson. Officers recovered the instrument from a woman who had purchased it from the theft suspect. However, a vintage 1966 Gibson EM-50 mandolin remains missing.
Detectives revealed that surveillance footage showed the suspect handing the Telecaster to a woman, who then placed it in her vehicle parked a few blocks from the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, the location from which it was stolen. Utilising automated license plate readers, police identified the vehicle, tracked its location, and contacted the owner, who willingly surrendered the guitar. The individual who sold it to her has been charged with burglary and theft.
The missing mandolin, played by band member Paul Moak for over 25 years, has yet to be found.
The band’s equipment had been set up at the Hard Rock Hotel on May 30, as the venue was scheduled to host the opening of the “An Evening With Heart” tour the following day.
Wilson had earlier said, “We set up the gear the night before the first show and somehow somebody with a hoodie that they caught on CCTV just kinda went and did a drive by and just nabbed ‘em.”
Wilson said, “Supposedly, he managed to sell one. I don’t know if both were sold off or not.”
“These are one-of-a-kind, rare instruments,” Wilson explained.
Heart, led by sisters Nancy and Ann Wilson, has produced music together since the 1970s, with iconic hits such as “Magic Man,” “Crazy on You,” and “Alone.” In 2023, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy.
(With inputs from AP)
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