Teddy back with girl year after loss in wild
A little girl who lost a special teddy bear she’d had since being adopted from an Ethiopian orphanage thought it was gone forever when she forgot it along a trail in Glacier National Park in the US state of Montana last year.
Her parents and family friends still held onto a glimmer of hope. Hope won out.
Thanks to a social media plea, the soft heart of a park ranger and the closure of a hiking trail because of grizzly bear activity on the same day a friend visited the park, the teddy bear is back in the arms of 6-year-old Naomi Pascal in Jackson, Wyoming.
Teddy was the first gift Ben and Addie Pascal sent to Naomi before they adopted her in 2016. She took Teddy with her on trips to Ethiopia, Rwanda, Croatia and Greece.
When Ben Pascal took his kids to Montana with family friend Terri Hayden in October 2020, Teddy was once again along for the adventure. They were almost back to Hayden’s home that night when they realised they didn’t have Teddy.
It snowed overnight, closing the higher elevations of the park for the season and preventing Hayden from returning to search for Teddy.
She made a report to park officials, hoping someone might turn in the bear to a lost-and-found.
It wasn’t too long before Ranger Tom Mazzarisi, a bear specialist in Glacier, spotted the stuffed bear while doing some end-of-season work.
“Typically, items that aren’t worth much monetarily get thrown out,”
He’s been by her side for so many milestones.
Addie Pascal, mother
Mazzarisi said. He was unaware the stuffed animal had been reported lost, but for some reason couldn’t bring himself to dump it in the trash.
When Mazzarisi returned to work in April he “immediately put him on the dash of my patrol truck”.
In June, Addie Pascal posted a plea on Facebook for help finding Teddy, saying: “He’s been by her side for so many milestones. But there are many more adventures to be had!”
Hayden returned to Glacier in late September and spotted a stuffed bear in a ranger’s truck after being turned back from a trail that was closed due to bear activity. She took a picture and sent it to Addie Pascal, who quickly confirmed it was Teddy.
The bear has now been returned to Naomi, who said she was excited to get Teddy back, and Hayden bought another stuffed bear for Mazzarisi.