Brazen Bagpipe Burglar Being Sought By Cops

MARCH 5--What kind of a monster steals a man’s bagpipes?

In a brazen daytime aerophone heist, a Florida burglar swiped the musical instrument from an unlocked car while the vehicle’s owner was eating lunch, according to a police report.

The February 19 theft, which was reported yesterday to cops, occurred in the parking lot of Café Havana, a Bradenton restaurant. Victim Gary Reinstrom, 53, told cops that when he “returned to his vehicle after getting food, he noticed his bagpipes were missing” from the front passenger seat.

Due to Reinstrom’s delay in reporting the auto burglary, police did not process his car for fingerprints or other evidence “due to time lapse from the date of theft.”

Reinstrom, a Sarasota resident, is a member of The First Brass, an ensemble of “professional brass and percussion musicians” available for hire for gigs ranging from funerals to cocktail parties.

Pictured above, Reinstrom has played the bagpipes for 30 years. According to an online biography, Reinstrom was the bagpipe instructor at a Sarasota high school and “continues to give pipe lessons to anyone interested in learning.” He is also the founder of the Celtic Cultural Association of Florida.

In a TSG interview, Reinstrom estimated the value of the stolen bagpipes at a minimum of $1800. He said that the thief--who also got away with some pennywhistles that were in the bagpipe case--left behind a French horn and a trumpet that were also in his pickup truck. Reinstrom, who runs a swimming pool service business, said that the stolen goods were “no value to anyone, except another piper.” (1 page)