New mother’s wallet stolen from North Van maternity ward
Posted April 2, 2013 2:34 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
NORTH VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Can you help identify a heartless thief?
A new mother left her room at Lions Gate Hospital in North Vancouver to feed her new born baby.
When she returned to her room she discovered her wallet had been stolen from her unsecured drawer.
Hospital staff found the wallet in a garbage can down the hall and $300.00 cash was missing from the victim’s wallet.
“Fortunately, the culprit was captured on a hospital security camera. A clear image of the alleged thief is being shared with the public in the hopes that someone will recognize him and notify the RCMP.” said Cpl. Richard De Jong, spokesperson for the North Vancouver RCMP.
“It’s a shameless theft. At this point, this mother who truly needed the money to help with other expenses is now out $300,” adds De Jong.
Anna Marie D’Angelo with Vancouver Coastal Health says there are security guards and cameras, and while theft is rare, “Hospitals are public places. They’re not locked down and the public can come and go. For that reason, we ask people not to bring anything valuable to the hospital.”
“You’re very comfortable in your hospitals, you’re supposed to be there to get well or be treated for an illness or in this case have a baby, and you shouldn’t be having to worry about things that are of value,” she says.
But she adds staff are trained to question suspicious people.
“This is truly a heartless crime, made all the more disturbing because it targets a new mom caring for her child. We place the safety and security of our patients above all else, and we are working closely with the North Vancouver RCMP to help them solve this crime,” said Wendy Hansson, Chief Operating Officer at Lions Gate Hospital.
Hospital thefts are described as isolated but this is not the first time a patient in the Vancouver Coastal Health region has been victimized — you may remember in 2008, an elderly woman at VGH had expensive rings taken right off her fingers.
The North Vancouver RCMP can be reached at 604-985-1311.
