This article comes to us courtesy of SF Weekly's The Snitch.
Ashley Dunlop doesn't want red roses or a fancy dinner for Valentine's Day. All the San Francisco woman is asking for is her boyfriend's rare and valuable bass guitar to be returned -- now.
On Tuesday, shortly after Dunlop left for work at 8:15 a.m., someone broke into the Panhandle apartment where she lives with Evanescence bass player Tim McCord, and stole, among many other valuables, McCord's Yamaha bass guitar that had been handed down to him by his father after he died.
"He is absolutely heartbroken," Dunlop told us. "It is the most important possession he has and it means the world to him. To have that taken -- he was broken by it."
Dunlop has made it her mission to locate the bass for her boyfriend, hopefully by Valentine's Day -- it would make for the perfect gift. She's been visiting pawn shops and scouring eBay, searching for the cherished instrument. She's even plastered the neighborhood with flyers while keeping in constant contact with the San Francisco Police Department.
"I am doing everything I can to get it back," Dunlop says. "Whoever stole it also took other easily and quickly sellable items, so I know they are looking to make money off it and fast." She acknowledges that the chances of finding this extraordinary bass, which is worth $4,000 at least, are very slim, but the silver lining is that it's easily recognizable. The fact that it is so rare and so unique means she could spot it easily -- and so could guitar shops. "If something comes up with that model number, I will know it's mine," she said.
So if you find a Yamaha BB11005, tobacco sunburst-colored, four-string electric bass guitar, then call Dunlop at (916) 832-9984. It was last seen in an Ernie Ball-brand case with a yellow circular NFG sticker on it.
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