Thief ransacks Wichita musician’s home, steals guitars (+video)

To Lacey Cruse, her guitars are more than just instruments – they are a part of her.

So when someone broke into her north Wichita home Wednesday evening and stole three of them, it hurt.

To call it a rough day “is kind of a understatement,” she said.

Cruse, 33, is a local folk-rock singer-songwriter who has played numerous Wichita venues – and some in Parsons, her hometown.

She alternates between three everyday guitars – a Taylor 314 CE, a Gretsch Electromatic and a 1969 Gibson classical guitar.

Altogether, those guitars are worth well over $2,500.

And as of Thursday evening, those three guitars were still missing.

“As a musician you have highs and lows … when I’m high or when I’m low, I grab my guitar and play it. That’s how I get over things,” she said. “It’s just sad, man. Really, really sad.”

Cruse left the home Wednesday at 7:08 p.m. to pick up her daughter from an art class at CityArts in Old Town.

Surveillance video from a neighbor’s home in Sherwood Glen, near 37th and Porter, shows a dark-colored SUV leaving Cruse’s home around 7:38 p.m.

When she came home two minutes later, her door had been broken open and her blinds were “jacked up,” she said.

The thief stole the three guitars – ripping the Electromatic straight out of the amp it was plugged into – as well as her 27-inch iMac computer, microphone necklace, and her entire sock drawer, she said.

The thief tried to take her piano as well, she said, but was unsuccessful.

The only guitar that was spared – a 12-string Fender she rarely plays – was buried deep in her closet, she said.

“It’s just a huge violation of privacy to know somebody went all through my house, ransacked my house,” she said.

A Facebook post asking for help from area musicians had been shared more than 450 times as of Thursday evening.

Cruse said it’s likely the thief will pawn her guitars or list them on Craigslist.

She’s asking the public to be on the lookout for them.

“Anything can be replaced,” she said. “I’m just glad that we weren’t home and nobody was hurt.”

Anyone with information on the guitars can message Cruse on her Facebook page, www.facebook.com/laceycrusemusic.

This story was originally published April 21, 2016 at 10:04 PM with the headline "Thief ransacks Wichita musician’s home, steals guitars (+video)."