$50k violin stolen from Vancouver car park

3 August 2012, 10:46 | Updated: 30 September 2014, 14:17

The Joseph Nadotti Fecit violin from 1772 was taken from student's minivan while she shopped.

South Korean student Yun Hee Kim received a shock on Tuesday afternoon when she returned to her car to discover that her 240-year-old violin had been stolen. Worth $50,000, the violin was taken from Kim's minivan, which was parked in the underground car park of a Vancouver shopping centre.

The violin itself is a Joseph Nadotti Fecit (a notable  18th Century Piacenzan violin manufacturer) from 1772, and was in its case along with a German-made carbon fibre bow, itself worth $3,000.

Local police said: The owner is most concerned about her violin, which is 240 years old. She has a concert performance next month and is desperate for the return of this valuable instrument.”

In the meantime, recreational musician and full-time student Kim has returned to South Korea to continue studying.