Thief Pilfers Heirloom Ring after Softball Game

Thief Pilfers Heirloom Ring after Softball Game

By Lee Revis
Editor, Valdez Star

G0LD FIELDS- "There's somebody out there breaking into cars," said Valdez Police Chief Joe Michaud when questioned about the theft of an heirloom wedding band, a woman's purse and other items during a softball game last week. "We'd like to catch the thief."

So would the victims of this crime, especially Theresa McCain, who says among the many items stolen from her and husband Dana's truck was her dead father's wedding band, an item that is virtually irreplaceable. "You couldn't give me five million dollars for that," she said of the plain gold band, size 9, which has a ridge around the top and bottom portions of the band. "My dad wore it for 20 years, my mom wore it for 10 and I've had it since February."

The first indication of a problem came to light after a friendly scrimmage between two local teams a week ago Tuesday. After the game, some of the participants left while some people stayed behind to practice hitting. During the impromptu practice, one of the participants who'd left earlier returned, asking if anyone had seen her purse, which she was sure she had left in her unlocked car during the scrimmage. "I'd already turned out onto the highway," said Kristina Lawrence, when she reached for her purse, only to find it was not where she was sure she had left it. She pulled over to try to find the missing hand bag, which is Khaki colored corduroy with a brown strap. "I searched my car and it wasn't anywhere."

She returned to the Gold Fields, to make sure she hadn't mistakenly taken it out of the vehicle and left it at the game by mistake. Everyone took a quick look around for the missing purse, but it didn't show up, Ms. Lawrence left and everyone went back to playing ball. It wasn't until the practice broke up and folks started to leave that it came to light that something was very amiss. Dana McCain went to turn the key to start the engine of their truck but the keys were missing from the ignition, where he always leaves them at baseball games. He and wife Theresa then went on a frantic search for the missing keys, thinking perhaps he'd lost them elsewhere. That's when wife Theresa put two and two together, and checked the glove box for the jewelry she'd take off and placed there before the game. "I looked for my purse first," said Theresa, who found it undisturbed inside the truck, but remembered she'd taken off her jewelry and stashed it before heading to the ball field. "I opened the glove box and it was gone," she says.

The couple rehit the field, looking for the keys, which did not turn up. "We ended up having to change the ignition of the truck," she said.

While everything else is replaceable to a point, Ms. McCain says the loss of her father's wedding band is the one loss that money can not replace. The ring, as described above, was strung through a lady's Citizen watch, with a silver band with gold inlay. The face of the watch is round and in the old analog style. Also strung through the watch band was an Italian Zoppini charm bracelet, a small gold band ring with a heart, a gold band embedded with three small diamonds, and her wedding set. The wedding ring, consisting of two bands, features a marquise diamond with three smaller diamonds wrapped around the marquise.

Ms. McCain, a popular bartender for The Pipeline Club, says she is willing to put up a $100 reward for the return of her jewelry, especially her late father's ring. "If I get my jewelry back, I will not press charges," she said, but added that if police catch the culprit first, she will pursue charges, which according to Chief Michaud, are a felony.

While police are actively investigating this case, Chief Michaud is warning residents to lock up their cars, as a similar theft occurred at the Senior Center recently and the victim's one and all had left their cars unlocked. The only person of interest in the case at the ball field case has been cleared by police as a suspect and that "nothing has been recovered."

Anyone who knows the whereabouts of Ms. McCain's jewelry is encouraged to come forward by calling police at 835-4560.