3 August 2021

One man charged over guitar theft after push for online help pays off

| Kim Treasure
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Charlie Tizzard with new guitar

Charlie Tizzard with a guitar given to him by DW Music after his were stolen last month. Photo: Facebook.

A Queanbeyan musician’s online push to recover his valuable collection of rare guitars and family heirlooms has paid off, with one man charged and investigations continuing.

Charlie Tizzard says he was given him little hope of finding more than a dozen guitars, his late mother’s gold jewellery and a grandfather clock taken from his Thorpe Avenue house sometime during the evening of 7 July, or early hours of 8 July.

But he credits a social media campaign with prompting a tip-off to Crime Stoppers, which has led to the recovery of an heirloom grandfather clock and two guitars.

“I believe someone contacted Crime Stoppers, so that’s testament to the campaign I’ve run and you helped publicise,” Charlie said.

READ MORE Charlie relies on people power to help recover rare guitar collection

“They are not the valuable guitars but they were sentimentally valuable.

“Mum’s jewelry is still missing but at least this clock is now safe. I’ve had a family member of the captured thief reach out to apologise on behalf of the family.

Grandfather clock

Charlie Tizzard’s stolen grandfather clock has been recovered. Photo: Facebook.

“The clock has suffered a lot of damage but someone is lined up to fix it up for me. Now to track down the rest of my gear.”

Charlie’s home has now been broken into three times, but thieves only managed to steal some of his property on the first occasion. Charlie captured their third attempt on video and will be sharing it with police.

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He suspects a group is involved but says the man in custody is not assisting police.

It’s been a stressful few months for Charlie, who is packing up the family home for the last time.

“The house has been in the family for well over 100 years, so there is a lot of family stuff there,” he said.

“It’s a bad note to be leaving on.”

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