India, Jan. 2 -- A bizarre theft at a vintage guitar store in the US state of New Jersey has taken an unexpected turn, ending not with an arrest but with remorse and a handwritten apology. Two mandolins stolen earlier this month from Lark Street Music were quietly returned days later by the man who took them, apparently after realising the gravity of his actions.

The store revealed the development in a Facebook post, saying the instruments were brought back in two shopping bags and left at the front door. Alongside them was a handwritten note, partly written in capital letters, that read, "SORRY, I BEEN DRUNK, MERRY CHRISTMAS. You are good man."

The return unfolded in dramatic fashion. In the same post, the store described how the man s...