NEWCASTLE, Wash. — Alan White, the Yes drummer who was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2017, lives in Newcastle. That is where the home that he shares with wife Gigi became the target of thieves.
According to police, squatters found their way inside while the couple was on vacation.
"They were there long enough to go over everything with a fine-tooth comb,” Gigi White said.
The thieves reportedly found personal documents that led them to the couple's storage unit. Surveillance images show how they cleaned it out, stealing a lot of Alan White's memorabilia, including a special drum kit.
"He played all the drums on the 'Imagine' album, including 'Imagine.' He used that when he recorded with George Harrison on 'All Things Must Pass,'” she said.
The drums' history includes the late Taylor Hawkins who once played on the drum kit during a local charity event.
Alan and Gigi White received terrible news twice on the same day.
"We found out on Friday, on March 25, that the kit was missing, and Taylor had passed. So we were, I guess, maybe numb. A little numb, shell shocked,” Gigi White said. “He was so loved. I don’t know a person who knew him who did not absolutely love and adore him including us.”
After so much loss, she's holding onto hope.
"I would love to get the kit back, of course, for Alan. I really don't care about anything else,” said Gigi White. "It is part of his heart. I mean, that's his history."
Newcastle Police are following leads that did bring them to a vehicle parked in Seattle's Georgetown neighborhood. A detective says some of the stolen goods were in there, but not the drum kit. The investigation is ongoing.
"I still am hopeful that with so many people looking and watching and caring that we might get it back,” Gigi White said.
Anyone with information is asked to call law enforcement. The King County Sheriff’s office non-emergency number is 206-296-3311.