Family Says Grandma's Wedding Ring Disappeared After She Died At Hospital

The family of a woman who recently passed away at Massachusetts hospital said her wedding ring has disappeared since her death.

Phyllis Kimball, 84, requested that her ring stay by her bedside while being treated at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Plymouth, where she stayed for several weeks. But her granddaughter, Shari Kimball Hill said the family couldn't find the ring when they came to collect her belongings.

“When I picture my grandmother I see her wearing that ring,” Hill told CBS Boston.

Hill said her grandmother cherished the ring, which had three rows of diamonds and wouldn't trust anyone with it outside of her family.

“She would not ever take it off,” Shari added. “So when they were like you know it’s getting kind of big we’re going to take it off and put it in a safe she was like absolutely not, she’s like I don’t want it out of my sight.”

Hill said nurses taped the ring to her grandmother's finger, but when she returned to say her goodbyes right before her grandmother's death on January 28, she noticed the ring was missing from her hand.

“That was definitely one of her biggest concerns was losing the ring,” Shari said. “I’m kind of like frantically in the midst of grieving looking for the ring and I’m like I can’t find it anywhere.”

Shari said hospital staff said they would look for it, but never provided any good news weeks later.

The hospital issued a statement to CBS Boston regarding the incident which states, “When a patient or family member raises a concern about a missing belonging, we take it very seriously and conduct a thorough investigation, including speaking with staff members and performing a rigorous physical search of the areas.”

Shari said the hospital offered to pay her $500 for the missing ring, which she said, "just felt like a slap in the face," adding that the ring was appraised at $4,000, but it's not about money for her.

“I don’t know it’s just it’s a very priceless, precious family heirloom that honestly it’s irreplaceable,” Shari said.

The Plymouth Police Department confirmed it is conducting an active investigation into the incident and hope to track down the ring.

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