Military medal left on Ottawa-Fredericton flight returned to owner

FREDERICTON - A military service medal that was left on board an Air Canada Jazz flight between Ottawa and Fredericton was hand-delivered back to its owner on Friday.
Manon Stuart, manager of corporate communications for Air Canada Jazz in Halifax, said the airline made special arrangements for crew members of the Ottawa-Fredericton flight to make sure it was returned to its rightful owner.
The owner's name was not released, but Stuart said it was a soldier currently stationed at CFB Gagetown, just outside of Fredericton.
"For something as priceless as that, we wanted to make sure it was delivered safely," Stuart said.
The airline is used to finding sunglasses, cellular phones and other personal items left behind by passengers but Stuart said she couldn't recall a case of a military service medal being found.
Kevin Heslop of Fredericton said the wooden box containing the medal slid out from under his seat when the direct flight touched down in Ottawa on Friday morning.
He opened the box, examined the medal briefly and then handed it over to a flight attendant.
Stuart said arrangements were made to pass the medal to flight attendants on the next flight from Ottawa back to Fredericton. The owner was contacted and was present at the Fredericton airport to receive it from the plane's captain.
Heslop, who is a pilot with First Air and was travelling as a passenger on the flight to Ottawa, said it appeared to be a Sacrifice Medal.
Last week, Governor General Michaelle Jean presented the first 46 Sacrifice Medals to Canadian soldiers who had been wounded in Afghanistan, and to family members of soldiers killed in action.