Local musician asks for public's help to recover lost guitar

BELMONT — Local bard Jackie Lee lost her favorite guitar on Wednesday, and hopes the public might help her get it back.

“It was loaded in the back of my husband's truck,” Lee said Friday morning. “Which is weird because he usually never does that.” 

Lee is a prominent singer and musician who performs all around the Lakes Region, visiting many of its favorite venues among locals, and beyond. That’s how she makes her living, she said.

But a wrench was thrown into her gears Wednesday when she and her husband loaded up her guitar into the back of their pickup truck and left home. While turning off Brown Hill Road onto Route 106 in Belmont, the tailgate opened and the guitar, which was inside its case, fell out of the vehicle, unbeknownst to the couple.

When they arrived at their destination and went to retrieve the instrument, Lee and her husband noticed the open tailgate and saw the guitar was missing.

Since Wednesday, Lee said she received one tip in the case — a woman messaged her on Facebook and said she’d seen it while driving through that area between 10:30 and 11 a.m. She doubled back and it was gone. 

“It went very quickly,” Lee said. “This is day three.”

The guitar, a 2004 Taylor which she described as golden in color, was inside a dark brown guitar case with gold latches and a tag on the front. Other than those details, the case is blank. The guitar’s serial number is 20041102108, she said. 

The instrument not only helps Lee provide for herself and her family, but it’s especially sentimental to her. 

“It was a birthday gift,” she explained. 

She received the guitar as a gift from her husband 11 years ago after the death at that time of her father. Her mother was battling cancer, and Lee stayed by her side for 10 months in order to help her.

“It’s a part of me,” she said.

And for 11 years, Lee’s used that guitar to earn a living, frequently playing sets at local venues all over the city and at the county nursing and veterans homes, among many other locations. 

“It’s what I do,” she said. “It’s my livelihood.” 

She’s already contacted the Belmont police and they’re aware the guitar is missing. 

“The sentimental value is huge — it’s a piece of me,” she said. “My parents were my best friends.” 

Anyone with information about the location of the missing guitar is urged to contact Jackie Lee on Facebook, where she’s active, or by calling her cell phone at 603-630-4328.

She’ll be performing widely throughout the Lakes Region next week — anyone interested can see her at Tower Hill Tavern Sunday afternoon, at Whiskey Tavern on Labor Day, at the 405 Pub & Grill on Thursday, Sept. 5, at Newfound Lake Inn on Friday, Sept. 6, at Odell Park in Franklin on Saturday, Sept. 7.