A Bristol woman is offering a $1,000 reward to anyone who can help reunite her with a unique clutch that she reported was stolen, and which contains an item of irreplaceable sentimental value.

On the evening of July 3, Bristol resident and Fourth of July Committee member Elaine Rusk Rusk attended an event at the Bristol Elks Lodge with her family, which included a dinner and the opportunity to watch the fireworks from their private dock.

She said that her bedazzled American flag clutch, which contained the sentimental item that is now lost, had been contained within a larger canvas bag that she placed under their table. At one point, they got up to put in orders for food, and that is the time she reckons the alleged theft is likely to have occurred.

After the fireworks ended, Rusk said she immediately went home without checking the contents of the canvas bag, which contained various sweatshirts and accessories in addition to the clutch, because she had to get up early for parade duty the following morning.

But when she went into the bag early on July 4 to retrieve the small purse, she was shocked to find it was gone.

Rusk went to the police and reported the item as stolen, and was told she had to make sure the item wasn’t still at the Elks Lodge. After an extensive search of the building and their lost and found, it didn’t turn up.

Although she is not disclosing what exactly the item is that was taken, she said it has a connection to her late father, a veteran of World War II who fought in Normandy as a soldier in Patton’s Army.

“There were other things in the bag too, but this is a very sentimental item to me,” Rusk said. “I don’t really care about the bag.”

Still in shock from the discovery of the clutch being gone, Rusk nonetheless reported for parade duty, where she was assigned to one of the veterans divisions. While the rain dumped down, she spotted a veteran with a walker by himself in the midst of the downpour. She went over and talked to him for a half hour and made sure he was okay.

“It was bringing back stories to me of my dad being sent to Normandy after the first big invasion,” she said. “He said he had been through worse than just some rain.”

Elaine Rusk joined the Fourth of July Celebration Committee shortly after moving to Bristol after Covid took her job and, eventually, her home in Attleboro, Mass.

“I was so blown away that such a small town could put together something that was such a big deal,” she said. She has volunteered as a raffle ticket seller during the free concerts — earning some local notoriety for her big smile and head of colorful red white and blue hair.

If anyone has any information as the whereabouts of Rusk’s stolen clutch, or the item she seeks to get back, please contact Detective Adam Clifford of the Bristol Police Department at 401-253-7766. You can make a report anonymously through the Tip411 text line, or by phone at 401-254-2229.

If you wish to contact Elaine directly, you can reach her at elainerusk@gmail.com.