A 91-year-old grandmother whose rings were stolen from her hands while she lay in a Vancouver hospital bed says she's devastated by the loss.

Agnes Ulmer, 91, says the three rings that were stolen from her mean a lot to her, especially the wedding band her husband gave her.
(Global-TV)

A man came into the room of Agnes Ulmer at Vancouver General Hospital about noon on Saturday, police said, whispered in her ear that he was going to take the rings to be cleaned, removed them from her fingers and slipped away.

The brazen thief struck as Ulmer lay recovering from a leg amputation.

"My wedding band was here … had mother's ring on here," Ulmer said on Tuesday.

"They mean so much — my husband's ring and grandma's ring."

Ulmer lives in Simpson, Sask., but winters with her family in B.C., said Jason Dudlets, Ulmer's grandson.

Jason Dudlets says his grandmother is devastated by the loss of her rings.
(CBC)

"She sits there and cries all the time … She sees all the [marks] on [her] fingers from the wedding bands, and I don't know what to say,"  Dudlets said Tuesday.

One of the stolen rings was her wedding band. The other two were passed on from her mother and grandmother, Dudlets said.

"I'm just asking, please, please, somebody's got to know where they are. Bring them back. I just want them back, just for my grandma, please," he said.

Vancouver police spokesman Const. Tim Fanning said they are looking for a Caucasian man between the ages of 40 and 50 who, a hospital surveillance tape showed, was wearing a black sweatshirt.

Police are looking for a Caucasian man between the ages of 40 and 50 last seen wearing a black sweatshirt.
(Vancouver Police Department)

The thief is average height, about five foot nine, with light brown hair, Fanning said.

"This is such a despicable crime," Fanning said. "We are hoping that somebody out there may know something about these rings that were stolen on March 1."

Viviana Zanocco, a spokeswoman for the Vancouver Coastal Health, described the theft as an isolated incident, but said the thief seemed to know exactly what he was doing.

"The suspect is a professional. [He] knew where the cameras were and knew how to dress in a way that blends in with everyone else," she said Tuesday.

"When he got to the security camera he tipped his head and [hat] brim just a little bit [so] not even a portion of his face is visible," she said.