SHORT TAKES : $500,000 Violin Still Missing
A $500,000 Stradivarius violin owned by violinist Erich Gruenberg remains missing today after disappearing from an airport baggage cart at Los Angeles International Airport.
“The violin is still outstanding and we have no suspects at this time,” detective Jerry Sparks said.
Gruenberg, 65, was carrying the violin, crafted in 1731, as he checked through customs at Los Angeles International Airport on Tuesday, Sparks said.
But Gruenberg noticed that the violin was missing from the baggage cart “somewhere along the way” to ground transportation, the detective said.
Thefts at the airport are common, but in this case the thief may not have realized the cart was carrying a Stradivarius.
The instrument was insured for about $500,000. Also stolen was a violin worth $8,000 and two bows worth $3,500.
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