‘Please bring my ring back,’ pleads elderly victim of distraction theft in Ottawa

A 90-year-old woman says a ring was stolen off her finger in a theft outside an Ottawa retirement residence. CTV’s Katie Griffin reports.

A 90-year-old Ottawa woman is speaking out after becoming the victim of a distraction theft.

“I looked at my hand and my ring was gone,” said Terry Thompson.

Thompson was having a smoke outside the Ogilvie Villa retirement home on Sunday and says she was approached by a woman who told her she wanted to give her her grandmother’s jewelry and forcefully put it on her.

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“I said, ‘I don’t want any. You keep it, you wear it,’ and all of a sudden she grabbed my hand, put the ring on and then all of a sudden she took it off. I said, ‘Take that off,’ and she was gone in about a second,” Thompson recalled.

Also gone—her aquamarine and diamond ring.

“You know my husband gave me that 1975. He had bought it at Birks,” she said through tears. “Please bring my ring back.”

“I’m sad for my mom, upset,” said Thompson’s daughter Diane DeCooman. “Hopefully they can catch this person.”

A picture of the suspect has been posted on the door to the retirement home, asking anyone who sees her to tell management, who will call 911.

Last month Ottawa police asked for help identifying suspects wanted for distraction thefts specifically targeting elderly people.

To help protect yourself from this kind of theft police advise to:

• Avoid displaying expensive or sentimental jewelry in public
• Stay alert to your surroundings especially in parking lots
• Don’t allow strangers to invade your personal space or touch you
• Walk away and seek help if approached under specific circumstances