British Columbia

Anyone missing a piano? It may be sitting in a warehouse in Richmond

There’s no suggestion that anything criminal is behind the piano collection, but police aren't elaborating on how, exactly, the instruments came to be in the warehouse.

RCMP are trying to track down the owners of more than a dozen pianos discovered earlier this month

Richmond RCMP are trying to identify the owners of more than a dozen pianos found in warehouse in early June. (Richmond RCMP)

Has your life been a little less musical lately and you can't explain why? It could be that your piano is missing — and if that's the case, Richmond RCMP want to hear from you.

Officers recently recovered more than a dozen pianos from a warehouse in south Richmond after receiving a tip in early June, and now they're trying to hunt down the owners.

"Pianos are not just simply a musical instrument. There's a lot of history that can be associated to them. It might be a precious heirloom. It might be passed down from generation to generation," Cpl. Dennis Hwang told CBC News.

The instruments range from small uprights to concert grands and most are in good condition, if a bit dusty. They don't, however, have many marks that would connect them with their rightful owners.

The pianos don't have identifying marks that would help police find their rightful owners. (Richmond RCMP)

There's no suggestion that anything criminal is behind the piano collection, Hwang said, but he declined to elaborate on how, exactly, the instruments came to be in the warehouse.

"There's a number of questions, but that's all we can say. We're trying to do the right thing," he said.

"Let's say we found a camera and it had a bunch of wedding photos on it, we'd try to reunite that camera with its owner. [It's] the same thing here, on a larger scale."

Anyone who's missing a piano is asked to call Richmond RCMP Const. Susie Wang at 604-278-1212 or send an email to Richmond_Tips@rcmp-grc.gc.ca.