Speaking through her son as a translator, 72-year-old Janice Yang said she was gardening outside her home near Commercial Street and 41st Avenue around 9:30 a.m. on June 12.
“There was a vehicle that pulled up in front of her home and then we saw a u-turnaround, then a lady came out of the vehicle and the car parked in front of her home,” Phillip Yang described at a Vancouver police press conference on Tuesday morning.
“Then you see the lady walking towards my home, enter my property, open the gate, going up to my mom when she was gardening.”
Phillip said his mom started backing up and calling for his dad and that’s when the woman jumped toward his mom, grabbed her chain and when his mom followed her, the woman pushed his mom down and ran to the vehicle.
He said that by this point, his dad had come outside and they were able to record the licence plate and report it to the police.
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Sgt. Tim Russell, with the Vancouver Police Department’s robbery, assault and arson unit, said the impact on victims is long-lasting with the loss of family heirlooms and their sense of safety lost.
“These are criminals who think nothing of targeting elderly victims and stealing their valuable family heirlooms,” he said.
As of July 16, there have been 35 distraction thefts have been reported in Vancouver this year.
Police said there have been 17 in the Sunset, Renfrew-Collingwood, Mount Pleasant, Killarney, Victoria-Fraserview, and Kensington-Cedar Cottage neighbourhoods, nine in the Strathcona, Grandview-Woodlands, and Hastings-Sunrise neighbourhoods, eight in Point Grey, Kitsilano, Fairview, Dunbar-Southlands, Arbutus Ridge, Shaughnessy, South Cambie, Riley Park, Musqueam, Kerrisdale, Oakridge, and Marpole neighbourhoods and one in the downtown core.
The total value of items stolen in these thefts so far this year is $245,000, Vancouver police said. In 2025, there were 158 distraction thefts with losses totalling $364,000.
In Janice’s case, police said the vehicle was stopped at 12th and Main Street and two women and one man were inside and many pieces of jewelry and cash were seized.
Amalia Stoian of Ontario has been charged with one count of robbery, Russell said.
Police said that the thieves involved in these incidents are part of organized crime rings, both of Canadian citizens and foreign nationals. They often criss-cross Canada in rented vehicles.
They are asking seniors to keep jewelry and other valuables hidden underneath their clothing, not let strangers approach or enter their personal space, attract attention by yelling if feeling unsafe and call 911 right away if anything if discovered missing.
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