Send this page to someone via email

The family of a 90-year-old resident of a care home in Chilliwack is outraged after two rings were taken from her room on Remembrance Day.

The two rings — worth $15,000 — hold significant sentimental value for Norma Patricia Cantlon.

Both her wedding ring and 65th anniversary ring were taken from her room at the Cascade Lodge on November 11 when she was sick with pneumonia.

“Later on that week when she was feeling better and off oxygen, she wanted to put her rings on and they were not there anymore,” says Norma Patricia’s son Jim Cantlon.

The family first thought the rings may have been misplaced, so they searched the room extensively, but did not find anything.

Cantlon says his mother put the rings in a case in her bedside table that was not locked.

Story continues below advertisement

He says when his mother first moved into the facility they kept her rings for fear of having them stolen, but soon relented when she became depressed over not having them.

Her husband had custom designed the 65th anniversary ring.

“He was going to give it to her for their 65th wedding anniversary and he passed away two weeks before, so it is kind of her last remembrance of him,” says Cantlon.

His mother is very upset and they are hoping whoever took her rings will have the heart to return them.

“It is not the money, it is the memories that are important.”

Chilliwack RCMP told Global News there have been no leads in the case. No witnesses have come forward, and the care home had no surveillance cameras.

The Cantlon family has checked the pawn shops in Chilliwack and Craigslist listings today, but with no luck.

They are now offering a $1000 reward for information leading to the return of the rings.

Will McKay with Baltic Properties Group that owns the Cascade Lodge says their staff were surprised to find out about the theft.

He says it is the first time that something like this happened at their facility and they advise residents not to bring any valuables into the care home.

Story continues below advertisement

Meanwhile, Cantlon says they hope the rings will be returned and that no other family will be victimized like them.

“No one in a seniors home should have to worry about having their memories stolen, but it seems that there are heartless individuals out there that will take advantage of people when they are at their most vulnerable.”