For Sara Schoenbeck, her beloved and beautiful wind instrument carried a value far beyond its price: it was the soul of her music.
Now, it's tragically gone.
"It really was my partner, you know, it was my coworker, my partner and my family member," she said.
Schoenbeck, a professional musician and teacher, was dropping off donated instruments at the Brooklyn Conservancy of Music in Park Slope when she left her car by a hydrant for only a few minutes. She came back to find the bassoon missing.
Surveillance video shows a man in a white hat walking across the street carrying the instrument in its case.
Schoenbeck did file a police report and the NYPD says it's investigating this as a grand larceny and no arrests have been made.
Schoenbeck says an arrest isn't really the outcome she's hoping for.
"I'm not necessarily really angry at this person. I'm actually just trying to work through my own loss from this. Just drop it off and leave and everybody will know what it is and really celebrate with me," Schonebeck said.
You can watch Eyewitness News reporter Lindsay Tuchman's full story in the media player above.
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