Man pleads for return of lost rings

When Pierre Jolicoeurrealized what had happened, he was sick to his stomach.

"I literally vomited. Literally," Jolicoeursaid Thursday.

The Clarence-Rockland, Ont., music promoter was at an Ottawa mall Wednesdayto have his wife's engagement and wedding rings polished when he inadvertently dropped the bag they were in.

Before he knew it, the bag had disappeared snatched up by a passerby, according to the security camera footage Jolicoeur said he was shown shortly afterward.

"The first thing I'd done, naturally, was to look at my feet, right? Well, it was gone $10,000 worth [of jewelry]."

Happened at Place d'Orlans

The incident happenedat Place d'Orlans, where Jolicoeurwas initially planningto havea silver chain belonging to one of the musical acts he promotes polished up.

Since he was heading to the jeweller anyway, Jolicoeur said his wife, Marie-Anne, asked if he could also get some work done on her engagement and wedding rings.

Jolicoeurwas on his way to the shop when he paused to take a few photos of a poster advertising an upcoming concert.

As he took out his phone, the black velvet bag containing his wife's rings slipped out of his pocket and fell to the ground.

When he realized it was missing, Jolicoeurbegan asking people nearby if they'd seen it. He then dashed off to find mall security.

Security officers took Jolicoeurtoa room filled with video screens, where for thenext two-and-a-half hours they pored over surveillance footage. Eventually, hesaid, they found what they were looking for.

"It showed a man ...with a hoodie just walking [by]," Jolicoeur said. "Hejust picked [the bag] up and walked away. And it's on video, so they notified the police."

Rings weren'tinsured

No one from Place d'Orlanswas willing to be interviewed about the incident.However, general manager KurtFortowskydid say he was aware of the incident,and saidmall staff are cooperating with police in their investigation.

Jolicoeursaid he and his wife never bothered insuring the jewelry since the rings almost never left her fingers.

His granddaughter later posted a plea for help onFacebook, with a picture of the rings. Withinabout24 hours, more than 1,000 people had sharedthe post.

Jolicoeur said his wife cried when he broke the news to her, but she also understood that dropping the rings was a simple mistake.

"She said, 'Pierre, I know how much you love me. And I know how much I love you.... You can replace material [possessions] but you can't replace love.'"