Tommy Vee's missing bass guitars returned after fall from tour bus, two-week search

A pair of bass guitars belonging to Thomas Velline, also known as Tommy Vee, were returned Tuesday after a two-and-a-half week search.

"You spend enough time on the road with those things, making music with them, and they start to mean a lot to you," Vee said Wednesday. "I'm just really glad to have them back."

Vee is the son of the late Bobby Vee, the 1960s musician and teen idol known for his hit songs "Take Good Care of My Baby" and "Suzie Baby." He now tours with The Killer Vees, a band that includes other members of the Velline family.

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The two Fender bass guitars were reported missing after they fell from a tour bus on Sept. 4 in Waite Park. 

Vee's son, Bennett, put out a call on Facebook for tips on their location that received over a thousand shares. One commenter said they had seen a man pick up the case with both guitars in it and place them in his truck.

"There's a part of me that thought I would get them back," Vee said. "The longer I went, the more I started thinking well, maybe not."

Scott Jackels was driving through Waite Park when his friend noticed the guitar case lying in the road.

"I work for the highway department so I put my flashers on and I jumped out, grabbed the guitar case to make sure there wasn't an accident," Jackels said. He held on to the guitars in case their owner contacted the highway department looking for them.

Jackels said his son found a Sept. 17 story in the St. Cloud Times and let him know the basses belonged to Vee.

Jackels returned the basses Tuesday and did not accept a $1,500 reward Vee had offered. "I just wanted to return the property to him," Jackels said. 

"It was awesome that there are still people like that in the world, you know?" Vee said.

The guitars didn't receive any damage during their fall or their journey back, he said. "They were still in tune."

"It's unbelievable that they didn't get hit by a car," Vee said. "So many things could have happened... it's about as happy of an ending as there could be."

Erik Newland is the education reporter for the St. Cloud Times. Reach him at 320-255-8761 or enewland@stcloudtimes.com. Follow him on Twitter @SCTimesErik.

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