Flutist Leaves $22,000 Flute on Chicago Train
Donald Rabin was on a visit to the Windy City, and it quickly became one he ll never forget.
On January 29th, Donald boarded the blue line train on his way to visit a friend in the city. He d just spent two weeks visiting family in St. Louis, and was trying hard to manage his suitcase, laptop, and his flute. He was only stopping for the weekend before he flew home to Somerville, Massachusetts.
When the doors opened at his stop, he grabbed his things and barreled up the stairs to find a ride.
As he waited, panic set in.
Man Leaves a $22,000 Flute on Chicago Train
Donald Rabin was on a visit to the Windy City, and it quickly became one he ll never forget.
On January 29th, Donald boarded the blue line train on his way to visit a friend in the city. He d just spent two weeks visiting family in St. Louis, and was trying hard to manage his suitcase, laptop, and his flute. He was only stopping for the weekend before he flew home to Somerville, Massachusetts.
When the doors opened at his stop, he grabbed his things and barreled up the stairs to find a ride.
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Currently Reading FLUTE EMERGENCY : A musician forgot his $22,000 instrument on a Chicago train. A homeless man found it.
Andrea Salcedo, The Washington Post
Feb. 5, 2021
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Graduate music student Donald Rabin, left, forgot his $22,000 flute on a Chicago train, but he found it days later after a homeless man had turned it in to a pawn shop.photo courtesy of Donald Rabin.
Donald Rabin had scoured train after train in Chicago for four hours. He had filed a missing item with police. He had even called every Blue Line stop.
Still, the $22,000 flute Rabin had left on a Chicago Transit Authority train last Friday was nowhere to be found.
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A Missouri musician who lost a $22,000 flute on the Chicago subway was reunited with his instrument after a homeless man tried pawning it for a $500 loan, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
Donald Rabin was visiting Chicago when he realized he had lost his flute on a train seat in late January. He spent hours frantically searching for the instrument, which was given to him by his grandmother, and then Chicago police, according to the Sun-Times.
Last Friday, an out-of-town musician inadvertently left his flute valued at $22,000 on a CTA Blue Line train. Unable to find the lost instrument, he went to #ChicagoPolice for help.@Area5Detectives quickly went to work and within days, located the lost flute.#CPDMediaCarpic.twitter.com/SsxrEMpDPA