The Montreal Gazette contacted the police for comment but didn\u2019t receive a response in time for publication on Thursday morning.<\/p>\n
A Quebec musician says he tracked down more than $10,000 worth of stolen equipment after his trumpet and other items disappeared from his vehicle during a visit to the Montreal International Jazz Festival Monday night.<\/p>\n
Trumpeter R\u00e9mi Cormier said the missing items included his trumpet, an iPad and a microphone. He was able to recover the trumpet at a homeless encampment the following day after tracking the iPad\u2019s location.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought, \u2018Oh my God, the horn,’\u201d Cormier said in an interview with The Gazette on Wednesday evening, recalling the moment he realized the trumpet was missing.<\/p>\n
Cormier said he left the instrument hidden in the trunk of his car before heading into the Jazz Festival.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t want to carry my horn the whole night because it\u2019s so crowded,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The theft did not become apparent until he returned home to Rawdon, about 80 kilometres north of Montreal, later that night. While stopping for gas, he noticed a box of vinyl records inside the vehicle had been disturbed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m like, \u2018What\u2019s going on? Did somebody get into my car or something?’\u201d<\/p>\n
When he checked the trunk, the trumpet was gone.<\/p>\n
What remains unclear, he said, is how someone gained access to the vehicle.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I came back, I had to unlock it,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t know how they got in.\u201d<\/p>\n
After posting about the theft online, Cormier said fellow musicians and friends encouraged him to use Apple\u2019s tracking software to locate the missing iPad, which had been stored alongside the trumpet.<\/p>\n
Cormier said he contacted police after discovering the theft and was advised to file a report.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn my head, I\u2019m like, \u2018In a week, the horn is going to be melted,’\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not going to exist any more.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re not going to help me and you don\u2019t want me to do it myself, what options do I have?\u201d<\/p>\n
By the next morning, he said, the iPad\u2019s location had stopped moving and appeared to be at an address on Aylmer St.<\/p>\n
Cormier called a friend, who went to the address linked to the iPad\u2019s location. While waiting for Cormier to arrive, the friend saw people leaving the building and confronted them, saying he believed the missing iPad was inside, Cormier said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt some point, [the people his friend confronted] went inside to get the iPad,\u201d Cormier said.<\/p>\n
But the trumpet was not returned with it.<\/p>\n
Cormier said the people told his friend they would retrieve the trumpet, but did not come back.<\/p>\n
\u2018The horn was just inside the tent\u2019<\/p>\n
When Cormier arrived, he and his friend searched nearby encampments and encountered people he believed were connected with those involved in the recovery of the iPad. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe horn was just inside the tent beside them the whole time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
After what he described as a lengthy argument and negotiation, the trumpet was returned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe insisted very much until they gave it back,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The experience prompted an outpouring of support from Montreal\u2019s music community.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got, like, a hundred offers for trumpets,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve never had so much choice in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cormier said fellow musicians offered replacement instruments, while a local music store offered to lend him one.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople were very, very nice to me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The recovered trumpet is set to be back on stage Thursday night<\/a> when Cormier performs at the Ges\u00f9 as part of the Montreal International Jazz Festival.<\/p>\n The Montreal Gazette contacted the police for comment but didn\u2019t receive a response in time for publication on Thursday morning.<\/p>\n
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