Stolen SF Conservatory Cello Recovered

The instrument is a handmade Bubenreuth worth thousands of dollars.

A cello stolen from the San Francisco Conservatory has been recovered and reunited with its musician.

Conservatory spokesman Sam Smith said Wednesday that a security guard spotted the stolen instrument  three blocks away from the conservatory at the Opera House War Memorial on Van Ness Avenue just before midnight on Tuesday.

The guard saw news coverage about the stolen cello, and soon notified police of the find, according to San Francisco police.

That news is sure to please 23-year-old  Adam Young, an artist and student at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, whose instrument was taken Sunday from an unlocked storage locker. He has since been reunited with his handmade Bubenreuth cello, which is considered "priceless."

Police are still looking for a well-dressed couple who were caught on video surveillance searching the building and leaving with the cello. 

The man is described as white, standing 6 feet 1 inch tall and weighing about 180 pounds with dirty blond orbrown hair, and appearing to be between 25- to 30-years-old.  The second suspect is a white woman, standing about 5 feet 7 inches, with a thin build and weighing about 120 pounds, also between 25- to 30-years-old.

They are still at large.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Inspector Brian Danker of the Northern Station Special Investigation Team  at 415- 614-3463, the Anonymous Tip Line at 415- 575-4444 or Text a Tip to TIP411 and begin the message with “SFPD.”

View images take from the security camera here.

 To see Jean Elle's Tuesday 11 p.m. report on the stolen cello, click on the video above.

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