Stolen U-Haul full of Persian puppet show gear recovered in East Bay, some items remain missing
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- A U-Haul truck belonging to a traveling performer has been found, two days after it was stolen in San Francisco.
That truck was found Wednesday morning in Richmond and SFPD is towing it back to the city, where they'll thoroughly comb through it for evidence.
VIDEO: Thieves steal U-Haul full of Persian puppet show gear in SF as creator pleads for return
Early Monday, hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of puppets and show gear were stolen from Hamid Rahmanian, the creator and director of Persian puppet theater show "Song of the North."
Rahmanian told ABC7 the gear was in a U-Haul that was stolen from the Comfort Inn parking lot in the Marina/Cow Hollow District of the city after sold-out shows at Fort Mason over the weekend.
Rahmanian was on the scene in Richmond Wednesday, and police allowed him into the recovered U-Haul.
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He told ABC7 that it looks like some of the puppets were still there, but the audio and video equipment he uses for the show is gone.
Previously, Rahmanian had detailed all of the items that were in the truck, used in what is known as a cinematic shadow theater.
"There are 483 puppets, 208 animated backgrounds," he said. "The entire three years of production is in that truck. This is a very expensive production to put together."
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Despite everything not being there, he's still thankful.
"I'm overwhelmed, it's a lot to process," Rahmanian said. "It's great, thank you for the community, thank you guys, for the person who saw your report and reported to the police. It's amazing."
Before the truck was found, Rahmanian was hoping the thieves had a change of heart, saying his show brings people together and highlights a bright spot in Iranian history at a time when wars are seemingly dividing the world.
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"All the horrors happening in the world. This show is kind of a very soul-cleansing experience when you encounter it. If they bring it back, there is no pressing charges, I forgive," he said.
SFPD says they also found stolen mail in the truck.
Police haven't released any information yet about who the thieves might be.
For more information on Song of the North, click here.
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