Winnipeg-made guitar returned to owner 43 weeks after being stolen

Damian Monette has been obsessed with guitars since he was a kid.

So when he saw a Winnipeg-made Beardsell Swingmaster – a guitar made by Winnipeg legend Allan Beardsell – he knew he had to have it.

“It was truly amazing,” said Monette. “I looked at it a million times.”

Unfortunately, he’d only have it in his possession for a few weeks. It was stolen through an open window in his apartment last August.

“It was a horrible heartbreak.”

It was missing for 43 weeks. That’s when good Samaritan Jay Bartel got involved to return the red fiesta guitar to its rightful owner.

“I couldn’t believe the guy did this for me and got the guitar back for me,” said Beardsell.

Almost a full year after it went missing, the one-of-a-kind guitar surfaced on Facebook Marketplace with a price tag of $80.

It was quickly snatched up by Bartel.

“I think pretty much every guitarist knows in Winnipeg that Beardsell makes a mean guitar and there all one of a kind, so when I saw it, it was posted for $80, so I knew something was fishy.”

He knew the guitar was rare and was able to find a post about the theft from months prior, saying he knew it was something he had to do, not knowing it’d mean so much.

“I had no idea,” said Bartel. “I just did it. It felt good and I know if it happened to me, I would hope someone would do the same thing for me.”

For Monette, he says the return proves there are still good people out there.

“You don’t see that very often anymore,” said Beardsell. “And for him to not ask for anything more, that he just did it out of pure heart, it was truly amazing.

“This is the first time I’ve ever heard of one coming back.”

The fact the guitar was returned was also welcome news to the man who built the machine, Allan Beardsell himself. He says he was upset when he heard the guitar was stolen and is glad to see it returned, as the theft of something like a well-loved guitar hits hard.

“These guitars, they’re unique and they’re kind of irreplaceable,” he said. “So if it’s the way you’re making your living, or the way you express yourself, it’s a real violation to steal these kinds of objects.”

Beardsell says he hopes Monette will bring the guitar by the shop so they can look it over together to ensure everything look and sounds correct.

Monette says he’s excited to play the guitar once more.

“Don’t give up hope,” said Monette. “Hope is a good thing.”