WITH THIS RING I THEE FLED
Stephen hunts for lowlife who stole sparkler from dying fiancee’s finger
STEPHEN Martin thought life couldn’t get any tougher for his terminally ill fiancee – until a wolf in sheep’s clothing stole her $10,000 engagement ring from her hand.
Janet Saunders, who has weeks to live after being diagnosed with multiple cancers in October, fell desperately sick at a birthday lunch at a Tweed Heads tavern 10 days ago.
What happened next left her fiance initially heartened and ultimately devastated.
“Janet was fine in the morning but by the time we made the 50-minute trip (from Wongawallan) she had started to fall asleep and wasn’t feeling well at all,” Stephen said.
“She didn’t eat any lunch so I raced through mine and said ‘I’ll get you home’ but she wanted to go to the toilet first. I pushed her wheelchair to the door and a lady already in there said ‘I’m a dementia nurse, I know what I’m doing, I’ll help her’.
“I said ‘ That’d be great’ … Janet wouldn’t have been able to talk, let alone get herself to the toilet. She was very unsteady on her feet.
“I waited outside with the wheelchair and after a while popped my head in. They were washing their hands and I asked if they were OK and the woman said ‘She’s fine’.
“Janet slept the whole way home and I bundled her into bed. It wasn’t until later that night when I got her up to get her changed that I noticed the engagement ring wasn’t on her hand.”
Several hours after he had been grateful for her assistance, one person entered Stephen’s head.
“My first thought was that woman but you don’t want to believe it,” he said.
“I stripped the bed and searched the room, the car, the path to the house, anywhere it could have fallen off. I rang the pub that night and again the next morning. They asked the cleaner but she hadn’t found anything so that was when I reported it to police.”
Stephen also put a call out on Facebook, offering a $1000 reward for the ring’s return. That post has since been shared more than 800 times and attracted about 200 comments.
“Some people have said it might’ve slipped off ... but it was a snug fit and has never come close to falling off,” he said.
“The only way it could’ve come off is if someone removed it and the only person who had the chance was the woman in the toilet … it’s such a low act and a sad indictment on society that you can’t trust anyone these days.”
A non-smoker, Janet was diagnosed with lung cancer in October and the disease has since spread to her liver, bones and brain.
“We’re down into the weeks now,” said Stephen, who has lived with his partner for seven years and proposed on Christmas Day.
“I chose the ring myself and while it will most likely be covered under insurance, we’d rather get it back ... hopefully this might just tweak the attention of someone in the know.”
The ring is 18 carat yellow and white gold with a 1 carat brilliant cut diamond.
Stephen described the woman as caucasian, in her late 40s to early 50s and with silvery/blonde hair with dark roots. He also said she arrived at the tavern on Sunday, April 23 with a male companion on a motorbike.
“I could identify her again but I know the chances are pretty low I’ll get the chance to,” he said.
SOME PEOPLE HAVE SAID IT MIGHT’VE SLIPPED OFF ... BUT IT WAS A SNUG FIT. THE ONLY WAY IT COULD’VE COME OFF IS IF SOMEONE REMOVED IT. STEPHEN MARTIN