Ridpath piano vanishes

Was it young wizard Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak that made it possible to sneak a grand piano out of a downtown Spokane hotel?

Was David Copperfield in town performing one of his famous illusions?

It’s not like the Steinway rolled out of the Ridpath Hotel lobby on its own great escape.

Crime Stoppers hopes someone knows how the trick was done. A reward is awaiting the person who makes possible the piano’s grand re-entrance.

The piano was stolen overnight Saturday from the 515 W. Sprague location, according to a report filed with Spokane’s Crime Reporting Center. A West Coast Hotel employee working at the Ridpath told authorities the piano was there when she left about 10 or 11 p.m. Saturday for her dinner break and gone by 2 a.m. Sunday.

“The victim had no idea how the $25,000 piano was removed from the building,” said Sgt. Dave Reagan, Spokane County sheriff’s spokesman. “Hotel staff reported seeing nothing unusual.”

The grand piano – black with white ivory keys – is at least 100 years old, those close to the piano said.

Ridpath owner Douglas Da Silva said he was shocked to hear about the “grand theft.”

“I don’t know what’s going on up there that someone could roll a piano out the door without anyone saying something,” Da Silva said. “We will prosecute whoever did it to the nth degree.”