Elderly distraction theft victim gifted new ring

A 90-year-old woman who had a beloved keepsake stolen from her received the gift of a faithful recreation, complete with engraving. CTV’s Katie Griffin reports.

A 90-year-old Ottawa woman who had her aquamarine and diamond ring stolen in a distraction theft in August has been gifted a new one.

“It’s so gorgeous,” said Terry Thompson after receiving the ring at La Maison d’Or Jewellers Wednesday afternoon.

Thompson was outside her retirement home this summer when she was approached by a stranger who forcefully placed costume jewelry on her while also removing the valuable ring that had been a gift from her late husband.

Brent Harden, owner of La Maison d’Or Jewellers, said his daughter Alex approached him about making Thompson a replacement ring after seeing her story on CTV News.

“We are local, we do care a lot about our customers and we really do care about our community, so it’s our pleasure to do something and give back to our community,” Harden said.

“We actually upgraded the ring a little bit. We put in the aquamarine… we put two synthetic diamonds on the shoulders in 14 karat [gold] and then we engraved in it ‘with love Bill,’ which was the original engraving.”

The ring is valued at $6,000.

Thompson’s daughter, Diane DeCooman, says her family is grateful for Harden’s generosity.

“La Maison d’Or has been amazing. My mother has had such support from them and to make her day like this, it’s incredible,” DeCooman said.

DeCooman’s sentiment was echoed by her mother Thompson.

“Beautiful people. You know, it’s nice to see that there’s still some people like that around because life is so short,” she said.

According to police, there have been more than 120 distraction thefts targeting seniors in Ottawa since the spring, with dozens of incidents occurring in September and October.

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