Girl searching for teddy bear with recording of late mom’s heartbeat

Can you help this little girl find her priceless teddy bear?

A 4-year-old girl in Tennessee is in desperate need of help to find a missing teddy bear. The teddy bear, which was accidentally donated to Goodwill, has a recording of her now-deceased mother’s heartbeat.

After realizing that the teddy bear had been unintentionally donated to Goodwill, the little girl’s father reached out to the store, which is located in Tazewell, Tennessee. However, the store could not locate the teddy.

Local radio stations and news stations have picked up the story, and social media has also helped to spread this father’s pleas. He says this teddy bear is the only thing this little girl has of her mother, and she desperately wants it back.

The teddy bear is a tie-dyed Build-a-Bear stuffed teddy, and although there is no exact picture of it from the family, images of similar teddy bears have been shared. A local radio station shared this message about the missing teddy on their Facebook page:

The family is asking everyone who might have purchased the teddy to please return the item. The manager of the Goodwill says that while the store has received many calls about the missing teddy, they believe that the item is in the region’s Tri-State area (which includes portions of Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia).

If you live in this region and frequent Goodwill, or have family and friends that do, the family is asking that you look at recent purchases to check for the teddy bear. Or, consider sharing the post about the missing teddy on Facebook to help amplify the message and broaden the search.

Build-A-Bear sent the girl a replica bear, shown above, as a replacement, complete with the original heartbeat recording provided by the child’s grandmother. Build-A-Bear Public Relations Director Jamie Ludwig told local radio station WRIL they were heartbroken to hear the news about the missing bear. Both Build-A-Bear and Goodwill are hopeful the original bear will be found, WRIL reported. Ludwig told the station it is the company’s sincere wish that the new teddy bear will provide a bit of comfort for the child and the family at this time.