A quick-thinking music store employee is responsible for connecting a flute worth thousands of dollars with its rightful owner after a decade-long search.
The flute, valued at a staggering $13,000, was spotted by the employee at Virtuosity Musical Instruments in Boston when someone came in February looking to get an estimate on how much it might be worth, according to WBTS. The store's clerk wrote down the person’s information and snapped a picture of the valuable instrument, including its serial number.
Heidi Skyler had reported the was a Brannen Brothers Flutemakers silver Millennium missing in 2012 when she accidentally left it in a cab.
Skyler was a student when she lost the flute, having just finished a performance at a nearby piano bar. "I felt like I lost a limb, you could say, because it was like a part of me," she told the station. "I know that sounds a little dramatic, but I played it all growing up. It took me through high school and college."
She bought the flute when she was in high school with her own money, reported The New York Times.
The person who brought the flute in happened to be a taxi driver who had been driving when it went missing, police said. Skyler isn't sure she wants to see the suspect prosecuted, but is thrilled to have the instrument back.
Authorities plan to seek charges against the unidentified driver.
