Police are reviewing surveillance video tape from the Jewish General Hospital in hopes of locating a thief who made off with $300 from under the nose of an 89-year-old poppy-selling fundraiser Thursday.

For 15 years Sandy Bernstein has been selling poppies to help support Canadian military veterans but what occurred Thursday was a first for her.

After seeing an unusual outpouring of donor generosity, likely the result of the two recent military assassinations, Bernstein leaned over to find her cash had been stolen.

She says that the culprit might have been a man who had slammed a book onto her desk but isn’t ready to jump to conclusions.

“Maybe it was him, maybe not,” said Bernstein, a member of the Cote St. Luc Legion.

“I was so aggravated that someone would steal from the veterans,” she said. “I didn’t sleep the whole night.”

On Friday there was no shortage of sympathy and support for Bernstein and her cause.

"I am so honoured by people like you and I have so much respect," said one woman to Bernstein.