Winnipeg widower hopes stolen wedding rings will be returned

A Winnipeg widower hopes an envelope and note posted on his van will encourage whoever stole his late wife's wedding rings to return them.

Josh Dusk Koslowsky and his three kids live in Elmwood. His wife, Ginger Dusk Koslowsky, died on April 24 at age 33 from heart failure following chemotherapy treatment for a cancerous tumour in her abdomen.

Dusk Koslowsky said he accidentally left his wife's engagement and wedding rings in the cup holder of the family's van last week.

It was heartbreaking. I'm not going to lie. I sat in the van and wept. It was hard. They're irreplaceable.- Josh Dusk Koslowsky

On Friday morning, he came out to find a door slightly ajar — an iPad was stolen from the vehicle as well as the rings.

"It was heartbreaking. I'm not going to lie. I sat in the van and wept. It was hard. They're irreplaceable," said Dusk Koslowsky.

"Don't ask me why I left them in there, it was kind of a dumb move. When she died I placed them on my own finger, it started to hurt so I put them in the cup holder and sort of forgot about them."

Dusk Koslowsky made posters which show photos of his wife's rings to display in pawn shops and he taped an envelope to his van with hopes the thief who stole them might pass by his van again and drop them off.

"I put a photo of the rings and a little description saying how important the rings are to me and my kids, and if the person who took them has any bit of a heart or soul, if they could deposit them into the envelope that is included there," he said.

"I won't press charges, I don't care about the money, I don't care about the monetary value, it's not about that, it's just about getting my wife's rings back."

Dusk Koslowsky said he had promised his wife he would keep the rings and planned to pass them down to their children.

"I feel like I've disappointed her. I told her I would take care of them, and I wasn't going to leave them on her when she went into the ground," he said. "I told them I was going to take them off, and we're going to keep them, and they're valuable to us."

He said they represent his wife and gave the kids something of hers to hold onto.  

"'I feel kind of dumb because I left mommy's rings in the van and they got taken,'" he remembers telling his children Friday morning.

"They were upset. The boys are kind of young they don't know the value of these rings, but my daughter was sad," he said.

For now, Dusk Koslowsky said he's trying to stay positive while he and his children grieve.

"She was an amazing mother, funny, smart, she had an infectious laugh, she was very strong. She fought hard. Just lived life to the fullest... and we miss her."

Winnipeg widower hopes stolen wedding rings will be returned

9 years ago

Duration 2:16

A Winnipeg widower is hoping an envelope and note posted on his van will encourage whoever stole his late wife's wedding rings to return them. Josh Dusk Koslowsky said he will not press charges, he just wants to be able to pass them down to his children.