When a man snatched Cyrus Spurlock’s beloved violin out of his hands on a CTA train, Spurlock made a desperate attempt to save his instrument.
“I was trying to bargain with him, knowing how important the instrument is. I offered to give him my wallet,” Spurlock told the Sun-Times on Tuesday. “But I think in that moment he knew that it was obviously super valuable.”
The man, and the instrument, disappeared into the night.
Now, Spurlock, 22, is offering a cash reward for anyone with information that can lead to its return. The instrument is valued at $10,000, but to Spurlock it is priceless. The one-of-a kind item was a gift from his older brother, who crafted it himself when they were growing up.
“I felt like there was a special connection to being able to play an instrument that my brother produced. It’s a real gift to be able to do that,” Spurlock said, “It’s always been a big part of my music and the stuff I work on.”
The theft occurred about 9 p.m. Friday at the Clark and Lake stop in the Loop, according to Chicago police. The robber was described as a male between 30 and 40 years old and between 5 foot 8 and 5 foot 11. He was wearing a black jacket with white-striped sleeves, black pants and white gym shoes. No arrests have been announced.
Spurlock — who is in his final semester studying music at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago — was sitting on a Blue Line train with his rectangular violin case in his lap when the man ran up and grabbed it. The two fought over it, but the man ripped it out of Spurlock’s hands.
The instrument does not have a serial number because it was custom made. The top of the violin is made from spruce, and the back — which features a distinctive grain pattern — is maple.
Spurlock’s brother, who is five years older, started working on the instrument in high school at their home in Woodstock, New York. Spurlock’s brother was an intern for a local luthier — a maker of bowed and plucked string instruments — who let him work on the violin in his spare time. He finished it in 2014 after two years of work.
It was the luthier who appraised it at $10,000. Spurlock has cherished it since it was given to him when was around 13 years old. He played it every day. He’s interested in music production, and the violin was a key tool for him.
Thanks to surveillance images, police are confident that they can identify a suspect, Spurlock said, but even if they find the man that doesn’t guarantee the violin will be with him.
“The chances of it still being in his possession are next to nothing,” Spurlock said. “It could have changed hands five or six times by now.”
That loss would be devastating, said Spurlock, because there’s no way to replace it.
“It’s extremely special,” Spurlock said.