Violin worth $172K left on bus in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA -- Police are asking for the public's help recovering a rare violin worth $172,000 that was left on a Boston-to-Philadelphia bus by a groggy music student from Taiwan.

Philadelphia police say the instrument was left in an overhead bin on a Megabus late Tuesday.

Muchen Hsieh, 18, tells CBS station KYW-TVM she noticed she didn't have the violin after getting picked up by the family hosting her visit to the Philadelphia area. She called the bus company, but was told the instrument hadn't been found. "They told me they cleaned the bus and they didn't see anything," she says.

"For sure this one, it's the one and only," she adds.

Hsieh says a Taiwanese culture foundation lent her the violin as she studies at the New England Conservatory in Boston. It was made in 1835 by Vincenzo Jorio in Naples.

Lt. John Walker says the instrument can be returned to Philadelphia police, no questions asked. "We're looking to see if someone may have picked this item up accidentally. It's in a reddish case with two straps on the back," he tells KYW.

The instrument was insured - but is irreplaceable, nonetheless.