A year after her beloved bear died while she was hiking Hidden Lake Trail at Glacier National Park, a little girl and her bear were reunited. A park ranger found the bear and took care of it while he was on duty, as well as a friend from family who saw it sitting in his car.
“There was something special about this teddy bear,”According to a statement from Tom Mazzarisi (ranger), Glacier National Park.
Naomi, who was originally the owner of Teddy, met him while she was in Ethiopian orphanages. Addie Pascal, her adopted mother, shared in a Facebook post how she and her husband had sent Teddy to them from Wyoming before they could meet in person.
“He kept her company until she could come home for good,”Pascal said.
Naomi took Teddy everywhere with her ever since. It accompanied her on stops like to Rwanda and Croatia on their way home from Ethiopia, to camping holidays and beach days.
Naomi, her family and Teddy lost Teddy while they were hiking in Glacier National Park last autumn.
Mazzarisi managed to get it. The stuffed animal was damaged while he and his fellow rangers were cleaning up for the season.
“Bears are my passion,”He said. “I just didn’t have the heart to throw it away.”
He made Teddy the mascot for his patrol car, displaying him right in the center of the dashboard – which is where a visitor spotted the bear, and thought it looked familiar.
Pascal posted a request on Facebook in June asking her friends to keep an eye on Teddy while they were hiking Glacier National Park.
“There would be no greater joy than to re-unite our daughter with her very special furry friend,”She spoke.
Fortunately, a friend did and left a note to park staff. Rangers were happy to hand over the bear to the friend.