Local musician looking for stolen one-of-a-kind instrument

Bruce Berven was in his friend's Windsor Park home for about an hour late on Thursday, which was more than enough time for a thief to jimmy his car door open and steal is unique Mexican acoustic bass. 

Berven - a member of the Winnipeg-based group The Mariachi Ghost - says he came back to his car and noticed the door was ajar. He then looked around and knew something was missing. 

"The other doors were locked and I could see that a few things were shuffled around," Berven said. "It started to dawn on me that something was wrong. I felt the blood drain out of my face and started frantically looking around thinking maybe it was close by."

Berven says he had hoped that maybe his eyes were playing a trick on him. Once he realized something was wrong he says he started to feel sick.

"I don't usually get attached to physical things but this is different." 

Berven has had the guitar since he joined The Mariachi Ghost approximately seven years ago. His band-mate, Gabriel Fields brought it back from Veracruz. 

"Over the years the band has toured to the States and overseas and that guitar has been with me everywhere," Berven said. "It's been through thick and thin and with me all over the place. It represents a lot of my music history with my band-mates."

Berven filed a police report and says he will be putting up flyers in the Windsor Park area with pictures of the guitar as well as handing out flyers to pawn shops. After posting about his plight on social media, he was also advised to check online sites like Kijiji for anyone who might try to sell it. 

He says he's hopeful someone will spot it. 

"Definitely going to keep my eyes open and get out as much as possible," he said. "It's a one-of-a-kind instrument in Winnipeg, so it shouldn't be too hard to track down if it does show up somewhere."