It was a reunion one year in the making, and it all started on a hiking trail in Montana in the fall of 2020.
Ben and Addie Pascal took their daughter Naomi for a hike at Glacier National Park last October. (Before I go any farther, no, Naomi didn’t get lost and raised by bears for a year. I don’t want to alarm anyone.)
The family was making their way along the park’s Hidden Lake Trail when they realized Naomi’s beloved stuffed bear “Teddy” was missing. And Teddy wasn’t just any plush best friend.
When Naomi was still in an Ethiopian orphanage back in 2016, Ben and Addie gave Teddy to her prior to adopting her.
“She had Teddy before she ever met us,” Ben Pascal told NPR.
The family looked for the bear and checked multiple times with the park’s lost and found, but no luck. Eventually the family’s trip was over, and they went back to Wyoming without Naomi’s favorite toy.
But the missing bear case caught a break last month.
A family friend of the Pascals visited the very same park and spotted the AWOL stuffed animal seated safe and sound on a park ranger’s truck’s dashboard.
Ranger Tom Mazzarisi was out on his usual patrol sometime after the winter snow thawed and melted away when he came across the little brown bear, and something told him not to throw it out.
So he made Teddy his unofficial truck mascot, letting Teddy ride along with him day-in and day-out.
After Teddy was spotted by the Pascals’ friend, the park rangers were contacted, and arrangements were made to get Teddy back to his home and his best friend.
And his return was met with great jubilation.
“She was excited. So happy. She just repeated like three times, 'Teddy! Teddy! Teddy!” Ben Pascal said of his daughter’s reaction.
The story of Teddy’s journey back to Naomi has received more than 12,000 likes since being posted on the park’s Facebook page.
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