Instrument Worth Thousands Stolen Outside Church

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) -- There's a reward being offered for the return of an instrument worth thousands of dollars.

Citywater is a classical contemporary ensemble. Every couple of weeks they put on a free concert for the unemployed, but Friday's performance ended on a sour note.

"It was gone just like that in two minutes," said Citywater member Jennifer Reason.

The group's $5,000 vibraphone was stolen.

"I was in a little state of shock for awhile," said Reason.

As the group packed up their equipment after the performance, they left the vibraphone outside for just a few minutes. When they came back to load it into the truck, the very large instrument on wheels was missing -- stolen right outside of Saint Paul's Episcopal church in downtown Sacramento.

"I feel angry; I feel sad; I feel sick. It's just wrong on so many levels," said Reason.

Reason and fellow musician Cathy Apple searched the nearby streets hoping someone was just playing a joke.

"I mean, we looked around the blocks and the dumpsters. We looked in the parks – nothing," said Apple.

"It didn't register with me," said Apple.

But soon it did and the sounds of applause from concert goers just minutes earlier was now a fleeting thought. Instead, their attention was focused on finding the vibraphone.

"When we are donating our time and we're letting people in for free, it's not like we have cash flow where if we needed to replace this instrument we could," said Apple.

And the instrument isn't even theirs. It's on loan from Sac State. So if they don't get it back the volunteers who give their time to help the unemployed enjoy a night out for free, may be forced to pay thousands of dollars just to keep doing what they love.

"Give it back, that's all. We just want it back," said Apple.

A couple who attended Friday's performance heard about what happened and they're offering a $500 reward for the return of the vibraphone; no questions asked.

The group says they will continue to put on performances, but they are still trying to figure out how they will get another vibraphone.