Hotel Heist Nets Thieves A Grand (Piano)

SPOKANE – A daring thief made off with a whole grand in a mysterious heist at the Ridpath Hotel over the weekend. And when we say grand, we mean grand … piano.

Someone stole a Steinway Grand Piano from the Ridpath’s lobby early Sunday morning. A staff member remembers seeing it Saturday evening and early Sunday morning the piano was gone.

The piano is at least 100 years and is estimated to be worth approximately $25,000. Whoever took it was in pretty good physical condition as well as they had a lot of heavy lifting to do.

“The typical Steinway grand piano weighs between 700 and 1100 pounds,” Kevin Rindlisbacher of the Steinway Piano Gallery said.

Rindlisbacher said he thought it was a joke when he first heard that a piano had been stolen from the Ridpath’s lobby.

“I’ve never heard of a piano being stolen from a public venue, particularly a grand piano,” he said.

If you’re going to pull of a caper like this Kevin says you would have to know what you’re doing and have the tools to pull it off.

“Typically you’d need a grand board which is a couple feet wide, and seven to nine feet in length, a piano moving dolly, straps, blankets, pads, and then of course tools to remove the legs and the pedals,” he said.

While Kevin Rindlisbacher says such a heist would be pretty daring …

“It’s not like you can hide it under your jacket and walk out the door with it, it’s pretty conspicuous.”

… trying to sell that $25,000 piano might be a little difficult. Each Steinway has a distinct serial number, hidden in hard to see places.

“I cannot imagine anyone selling it on the open market without it being exposed,” he said.

So if you happen to see the a misplaced 100-year-old grand piano around town, contact the Spokane Police Department.