California woman receives outpouring of support after love letters stolen

GLENDALE, Calif. -- A California woman whose love letters from her late husband were stolen last month during a burglary has been getting new correspondence in the mail.

After Eyewitness News aired Rosaleen Rickerby's story in April, strangers started calling and writing her letters.

"I hope your letters are returned soon. In the meantime, I hope this one keeps you company," one supporter wrote.

"It's nice when people are kind enough to call you up and sympathize with you," Rickerby said.

Rickerby was 17 when she met the man who would later become her husband of 56 years. She lived in Ireland, and he eventually moved to Canada, but the two kept in touch through their letters.

"He proposed to me in those letters in 1957," she said.

In 1958, she moved to Canada and they wed.

When her husband died in December 2014, those letters became even more important.

"I lost my husband and I'm still not over it, but his letters were so close to me," Rickerby said.

Three weeks ago, two burglars broke into Rickerby's Glendale home, smashing a rear sliding door to gain entry. They stole jewelry and a makeup case containing the mementos. Police believe a third suspect was driving a gold or tan Jeep Patriot.

Her son has doubled the reward for the return of the letters to $5,000 with no questions asked.

Until then, Rickerby checks her doorstep every day hoping someone will bring her precious letters back.

"If someone knows where they are, I just hope and pray that they'll be kind enough to let me have them back," Rickerby said.