PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – When two homemade guitars were stolen from a storage unit in the Portland metro area, the man who created them said the loss was greater than their value in cash.
Tim Vincent told KOIN 6 news the guitars — two of three instruments he had made for his children — were very precious to his family.
Years ago, Vincent was diagnosed with a terminal brain disease that impacts his mobility and speech, so he decided to build the guitars for his sons before he lost the ability.
His wife, Daniele Vincent, told KOIN 6 News that “a little piece of his heart” and “sweat and tears” went into making those instruments.
“This disease, it’s a cruel disease and, you know, it's terminal,” his wife, Daniele Vincent said. “You want to leave something for your kids, right? And, he put a lot of heart into those guitars."
It’s not clear when the storage unit off SE Johnson Creek Boulevard was broken into, but Vincent said two of the three instruments he made are missing. One instrument, a ukulele he made for his third child, remains because it hadn’t been in the unit at the time.
Each guitar has a logo, “Vincent and Sons,” and an inscribed message of love inside. He said he hopes these distinct markings will help track them down.
“We're really kind of heartsick over these two that are handmade,” Vincent said.
The last time Vincent saw the guitars was Oct. 14 when he went to get their Halloween decorations. However, when they returned last week to get their Christmas boxes, they were gone along with some other valuable items.
"We had some action figures that we've kept — sports cards, you know, like, my son's Lord of the Rings sword,” Daniele said.
Vincent said there was a security camera monitoring the unit, but the employees of the storage facility will need time to go through weeks of video.
"We're not out for revenge,” Vincent said. “We're really just hoping that the person who has them looks within in their heart and puts themselves in our shoes and finds a way to give them back.”
Anyone who has seen the instruments is encouraged to reach out to Portland police.
"PPB empathizes with the individual who lost these sentimental belongings," Portland police spokesperson Mike Benner said. "If anyone has information about this case, please reach out to crimetips@police.portlandoregon.gov."
