4 of 5 autographed guitars stolen from Edmonton charity found

Four of the five Fender guitars stolen from The Rock and Roll Society of Edmonton over the Easter weekend have been recovered in Calgary.

The instruments were signed by celebrities (musicians and a politician) and were going to be auctioned off to help raise money for the charity’s youth music mentorship program.

Global News learned Wednesday that four of the five guitars were found in Calgary after staff at a pawn shop there recognized them.

Police were immediately alerted.

READ MORE: Autographed guitars stolen from Edmonton youth music charity 

The instruments themselves are not worth that much, but the autographs make them valuable. The Rock and Roll Society of Edmonton estimated that together, the five guitars could raise about $25,000.

“It’s not a lot of money, but to a charitable society like us, that’s almost a full year of musician and mentor wages,” executive director Todd Crawshaw said on Monday.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday morning, Crawshaw shared the good news.

“The guitars made it through the doors of Sharky’s International Pawn Shop in Calgary, but the staffers had heard the story, took the guitars into the back, called Calgary Police,” he wrote.

More to come…

Watch below: The Rock and Roll Society of Edmonton is worried how the theft of five autographed guitars will impact the at-risk youth it helps. Vinesh Pratap has more.