Mt. Airy violin shop offers loaner to Megabus student

(Update: At 3 p.m. police confirm that the missing violin had been recovered. The Megabus cleaning crew found the violin.)

Sam Payton a co-owner of Mt. Airy Violins and Bows, 665 Germantown Avenue, said he’s offering a loaner violin to MuChen Hsieh who left her $172,000 violin on a Megabus last night. She was riding from Boston to Philadelphia and forgot to retrieve it from upper overhead compartment.

At this hour, there are conflicting reports on whether the violin has been recovered.

MSNBC reports that Megabus has located the instrument. Megabus USA director Bryony Chamberlain told msnbc.com today “It was found by our cleaners yesterday. I’m very relieved. We’re very lucky.” The report said the violin was moved off the bus to a holding area.

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But Southwest Detective Sgt. Michael Goodson said at 1:15 p.m. as far as their investigation is concerned it remains open. “We have been fielding several phone calls saying there is information on Facebook and Twitter that it has been found. We cannot confirm that at all,” Goodson said.

If the violin hasn’t been recovered Payton with Mt. Airy Violins and Bows said he’s offering Hsieh a loaner violin from his collection.

Payton also put the alert out to other violin stores along the East Coast to be on the look out for the Italian violin, which was made by Vincenco Jorio in 1835. “We emailed people we knew of in Philadelphia, D.C. and Maryland about the missing violin,” Payton said.

Often when a violin is stolen, Payton said, the thief will take it to a pawnshop or violin store to find out what it is worth.

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