MIAMI (WSVN) - A professional violinist is speaking out days after, she said, a thief smashed her can window in Miami and took off with her instrument and other valuables.
For a musician like Nicole Yarling, her violin is more than just her instrument. “The violin is irreplaceable because it’s my baby,” she said.
The violin becomes a family member of sorts, an extension of her voice and expression, which makes Saturday afternoon’s theft all the more painful.
Yarling said she parked her red Kia Soul along Southwest 27th Avenue. When she got back, she saw her window was broken.
“The crowbar was laying here. [The thief] broke the window,” said Yarling as she showed 7News the damage.
The musician said the burglar stole personal electronics as well. “I guess he went around that side and grabbed my violin, my iPhone, two cameras, a video recorder and a small amplifier,” she said.
The burglarized Soul’s driver’s side window is still smashed out. Yarling is currently driving around with a clear plastic bag as she waits for insurance to replace it.
Yarling said she has owned the violin for more than 10 years and has been playing for over four decades, thus heightening the sense of loss she is feeling. “It’s not just taking something for a quick dollar. It’s taking something that means something to people,” she said.
The violinist said she was on her way to share her gift with children and young adults when the break-in took place. “I teach children, age range 12 to maybe 20, 21,” she said, “kids that are interested to play jazz.”
Yarling has played all across the U.S., even performing with Jimmy Buffett.
She still holds out hope that police will catch whoever was responsible for taking her prized possession, which is worth about $1,500 but to her is priceless.
Yarling has one message for the thief. “If you have any kind of decency, any kind of heart, any kind of conscience, please, please return the instrument,” she said.
If you have any information on who may have stolen Yarling’s violin, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $1,000 reward.
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