Musician loses irreplaceable guitars in Oslo warehouse theft

Musician Torgeir Waldemar has lost around 10 or 11 instruments, including vintage guitars and valuable collectables, in a theft from a storage facility in Sinsen, Oslo, Dagbladet reports. A person has been formally charged in the case, and some of the stolen items have been returned.

Waldemar said he learned about the theft after the person sharing the storage facility told him that something was missing.

“When I arrived, I saw that a lot of equipment had been stolen,” he told Dagbladet.

He has declined to estimate the financial value of the stolen instruments because it is too early to determine the total. Their personal value, he said, is far greater.

“The instruments are irreplaceable to me. That is the worst thing about this theft,” Waldemar said.

Many of the missing instruments are vintage guitars and collectables he spent years building up. One blue guitar was the first proper guitar he bought and is especially important to him.

The two instruments returned so far are among those with the least sentimental value, he said. Waldemar estimates that he has lost around 80 percent of his instruments.

“This is a huge setback for me,” he said.

He said a reward would be offered for information leading to the return of the remaining instruments. The size of the reward would depend on how much equipment is recovered.

Waldemar said he fears that some of the stolen items may never be found.

“Much of what is gone is invaluable to me, and I am afraid I will never see it again,” he said.

He also thanked the public and music community for their support, saying that people who had experienced similar thefts had helped lead to the return of some equipment.

Oslo police confirmed that the theft had been reported and was under investigation. Police prosecutor Kristine Koch said a person had been charged with the offence and that several stolen items had been located and returned following police work at the scene and cooperation with the victim.