Sudbury drummer, Eric Kuthy, was busy getting ready to leave town for a wedding gig on the morning of June 18. But when he went to the shed to load up his gear, he discovered his beloved eight-piece ruby glass drum set was missing.
Someone broke into his shed on Attlee Avenue and made off with his drum set that's worth upwards of $10,000.
"I couldn't believe it," Kuthy said.
"I've been playing these drums for 10 years. They are my pride and joy."
Kuthy reported the theft to police who later dusted the shed for fingerprints, as well as a crowbar that Kuthy says was left behind by the suspects.
In the meantime, Kuthy's girlfriend and fellow Sugarboom band member, Lori Pilon, posted photos of the drums on her Facebook page in hopes that someone would find them.
Within hours the post went viral and was shared more than 1,000 times on Facebook.
"We had people down south saying they would keep an eye out," Pilon said.
"Hock Shop Canada messaged us asking for the incident report number so they could let all their stores know."
Despite having just lost his most prized possession, Kuthy was determined to make it to St. Charles to play the wedding with his band.
So with help from his Sugarboom bandmates, Kuthy was able to scrounge up enough drum pieces and the evening went on without a hitch.
The next morning Kuthy said he received the best Father's Day gift he could ask for — a phone call telling him that his cherished drums had been found, and undamaged.
Turns out, the drums were found along the shoreline on Ramsey Lake in a secluded area off Greenwood Drive.
"They were out in the open," Kuthy said. "I think they wanted us to find them."
Kuthy said he was thankful that the thieves seemed to have some consideration for the gear.
"They could have just tossed them." Kuthy said.
Instead, a woman who owned the property found the drums unscathed, laying in the grass. She immediately called a friend who's a drummer.
Turns out, that drummer had seen Pilon's post on Facebook the night before and Kuthy was reunited with his beloved drum set, all except for one piece.
The missing drum is a 14x11 DW Ruby Glass-finish tom-tom that was in a black Humes & Berg road case.
Kuthy is hoping through the power of social media, someone will find the lone drum just as the rest of the set was found.
"I know so many musicians and to see them all come to bat for me and that drum set, it was pretty amazing," Kuthy said. "I'm grateful for that."
You can follow the ruby glass finish drum set and the rest of the Sugarboom band at Sugarboom.ca or on their Facebook page.
Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact police at 705-675-9171.
If you want to provide information on the identity of the person(s) responsible for this crime or have any information about other criminal activity, and you want to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 705-222-TIPS (8477) or 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), or submit an online tip on our secure website www.tipsubmit.com. Crime Stoppers at 222-TIPS, online at www.sudburycrimestoppers.com or by texting TIPSUD and the information to CRIMES (274637).
