“They understood the sentimentality of these instruments and worked incredibly hard to bring them home”: Heart's stolen instruments have been recovered by the police – with a little help from the public

Both instruments stolen from Heart in Atlantic City on May 30 have now been recovered – with Paul Moak’s Gibson mandolin, by his side for 25 years, the last to make it home.

The band, led by guitarist-vocalist sisters Nancy and Ann Wilson, had set up their gear in Atlantic City’s Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on the eve of their rescheduled U.S. tour. Someone then entered the venue and walked out with two “irreplaceable” instruments undetected.

Wilson’s custom-built baritone Telecaster and Moak’s cherished 1966 Gibson EM-50 mandolin were described by the guitarist as “extensions of our musical souls,” as they took to social media in a desperate plea for their safe return.

By June 9, police had the perpetrator in custody, having picked him up via CCTV cameras in the venue and across the city, where he was spotted trying to sell the instruments to passersby. At that time, however, the instruments were nowhere to be seen, with Atlantic City police asking those with more information to step forward.

Two days later, Wilson’s Telecaster was found after police reviewed CCTV footage showing the perpetrator handing the guitar to a woman, who placed it in her vehicle which was parked a few blocks from the Hard Rock, before driving away.

Police tracked the vehicle’s license plates and found the individual, who surrendered the baritone guitar to police.

Moak’s mandolin was the final piece of the puzzle to fall into place, with CCTV leads bearing no fruit. The situation changed when members of the public stepped forward with information regarding who might have the prized instrument, leading to the retrieval of the mandolin.

Once more, they were happy to surrender the instrument to the police so it could be returned to the chart-smashing band.

“I could not be prouder of the work done by the detectives in our Criminal Investigations Section,” commented Chief James A. Sarkos (via News12). “They understood the sentimentality of these instruments and worked incredibly hard to bring them home.”

As reported by Guitar World on June 9, a 57-year-old man from Pleasantville has been detained and is facing charges related to the thefts.

In what’s proving to be an eventful month for Nancy Wilson, the guitarist has now spoken out against Donald Trump using their song Barracuda during a recent military parade, which coincided with the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary, and his 79th birthday.