“Great news came Monday for a professional L.A. musician whose prized cello was stolen from a San Diego hotel room last week,” reports Angie Lee on Monday’s (8/13) CBS8 television station (San Diego). “The instrument belongs to the principal cellist for the Los Angeles Opera who has played on more than 1,500 film scores including ‘Titanic,’ ‘Indiana Jones,’ and ‘Star Wars.’ John Walz confirmed to News 8 that his one-of-a-kind cello was found downtown by a fellow musician on Friday night. The custom-made instrument was stolen from Walz’s hotel room in Mission Valley last Thursday. According to Walz, a guitarist spotted the custom-made instrument on Friday under a bush near Third Avenue and Ash Street. The man who found it thought it was just an instrument case at first but quickly realized it was ‘something special.’ The man’s mother had seen the story of the missing cello on the news and contacted police, however Walz said he wasn’t contacted until Monday when he received a Facebook message. ‘I literally burst into tears,’ said Walz.” The thieves had also taken Walz’s computer and backpack. “Walz picked up his cello, worth $100,000, on Monday.”
Posted August 15, 2018
