Nancy Wilson’s Stolen Custom Guitar Recovered By New Jersey Police

One of two irreplaceable instruments stolen from the band Heart at a New Jersey venue two weeks ago has been retrieved. According to the Associated Press, on Tuesday (June 10), police in Atlantic City said they had recovered the purple baritone Telecaster guitar with ah hand-painted headstock belonging to guitarist Nancy Wilson from a woman who bought it from the suspected thief.

Detectives said surveillance video showed the suspect handing the Telecaster over to the woman, who put the instrument in her car, which was parked several blocks away from the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino venue where Heart had been scheduled top perform. Police employed automated license plate readers to identify the vehicle and then tracked its location to find the woman, who voluntarily surrendered the guitar; Garfield Bennett, the 57-year-old Pleasantville, New Jersey man she bought it from for an undisclosed amount has been charged with burglary and theft.

The guitar — and a vintage 1966 Gibson EM-50 mandolin that band member Paul Moak has played for more than 25 years that has still not been recovered — were nicked the night before the veteran band kicked off their An Evening With Heart summer tour on May 31. Officials said Bennett has a long criminal record and was previously arrested in April for a prior burglary.

Before Wilson’s custom-built guitar was recovered, the band co-founder said in a statement, “These instruments are more than just tools of our trade — they’re extensions of our musical souls. The baritone Tele was made uniquely for me, and Paul’s mandolin has been with him for decades. We’re heartbroken, and we’re asking for their safe return — no questions asked. Their value to us is immeasurable.”