Close X
Thursday, November 28, 2024
ADVT 
National

Homeless Man Returns Mistakenly Donated Diamond Ring To B.C. Woman

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 25 Dec, 2017 12:21 PM
    NANAIMO, B.C. — A cherished diamond ring has been returned to a woman in British Columbia, thanks to the dogged work of a homeless man on Vancouver Island.
     
     
    Trinda Gajek was visiting Nanaimo last week when she came across a young man who she said "wasn't looking so good" and offered him some cash.
     
     
     
    She emptied the zippered change pocket of her wallet and gave everything inside to the man, forgetting the contents included a beloved piece of jewelry — a "good mother ring" that her now-grown children helped her buy when they were in high school. 
     
     
    The next day, the Salt Spring Island resident realized her mistake and turned to Facebook, hoping someone might be able to track down the piece.
     
     
    Gajek said her exchange with the young man left her feeling hopeful she might be reunited with the ring, a thin band with baguette, or rectangular, diamonds across the top.
     
     
    "He was a very polite young fellow, very appreciative. And I really did feel that if he could find me, he would return the ring to me. I just had a really good feeling about him," she said in an interview.
     
     
    Media caught wind of the story, including a Nanaimo-based television reporter who talked to homeless people in the area about the missing jewelry.
     
     
    That's when a homeless man named Raymond Ahlstrom took it upon himself to find the bauble, Gajek said.
     
     
    "He totally took on my cause. He did not need to do that," she said. "He made it his mission to go out into his community and get my ring back."
     
     
    Gajek said Ahlstrom spoke to a number of people living on the street and eventually tracked down the young man she had given the money to. She said he found that the young man had placed the ring in his water bottle for safe keeping and was happy to turn it over.
     
     
    Gajek and Ahlstrom later met up in Nanaimo, where he returned the jewelry and she gave him a cash reward. She plans to track down the young man who kept it safe and give him a cash reward as well.
     
     
    "The ring really could have ended up anywhere," she said. "I'm thrilled to have it back."
     
     
    The community has embraced the story's happy ending, too, Gajek said. Local businesses have stepped up to help Ahlstrom and a Vancouver-area jeweller has offered to repair some damage to the jewelry.
     
     
    "I think everybody's kind of paid it forward as this positive spirit Christmas story," Gajek said. "It was just a really nice way to move into the Christmas season, for sure."

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Murder, Conspiracy Charges Stayed Against Gangster Jamie Bacon In 'Surrey Six' Killings

    Murder, Conspiracy Charges Stayed Against Gangster Jamie Bacon In 'Surrey Six' Killings
    Jamie Bacon was accused of the first-degree murder of Corey Lal, one of six people murdered in a highrise apartment in October 2007.

    Murder, Conspiracy Charges Stayed Against Gangster Jamie Bacon In 'Surrey Six' Killings

    Reena Virk Murder: Kelly Ellard Gets Conditional Day Parole While Serving Sentence

    Kelly Ellard, 35, wiped away tears on Thursday as a two-member panel granted her day parole for six months. She'll first have to complete a residential treatment program for substance abuse during that term.

    Reena Virk Murder: Kelly Ellard Gets Conditional Day Parole While Serving Sentence

    9-Yr-Old Girl Dies After Being Hit By Bus In Abbotsford Friday Morning

    9-Yr-Old Girl Dies After Being Hit By Bus In Abbotsford Friday Morning
    A nine-year-old Abbotsford girl has died from her injuries after being struck by a city bus at a crosswalk at the intersection of South Fraser Way and Hill-Tout Street around 8:20 a.m.

    9-Yr-Old Girl Dies After Being Hit By Bus In Abbotsford Friday Morning

    Time to end debate and build Trans Mountain, pipeline president says

    Time to end debate and build Trans Mountain, pipeline president says
    Ian Anderson of Kinder Morgan Canada says the company's Trans Mountain pipeline has undergone the most rigorous environmental review process in the country's history.

    Time to end debate and build Trans Mountain, pipeline president says

    Small businesses in B.C. in line for $18,500 relief for losses in wildfires

    Small businesses in B.C. in line for $18,500 relief for losses in wildfires
    Donaldson said funding is also available to not-for-profit organizations and Indigenous communities.

    Small businesses in B.C. in line for $18,500 relief for losses in wildfires

    NDP, Greens unite to support electoral reform ahead of vote; Liberals opposed

    NDP, Greens unite to support electoral reform ahead of vote; Liberals opposed
    The minority NDP government, supported by three members of the Green party, is poised to pass legislation today that paves the way for the referendum on Nov. 30, 2018.

    NDP, Greens unite to support electoral reform ahead of vote; Liberals opposed