Lifestyle0 min(s) read
Published 17:50 31 Jul 2020 GMT
There are some things in life that you can't put a price on. Whether it's watching a sunset with the love of your life, getting into college, or simply having a toy that you've cherished since childhood.
That's why, if your priceless moment happens to be a tangible object, it can be devastating when it goes missing.
This missing toddler was rescued by a family dog:
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This is something Mara Soriano from Vancouver, Canada discovered first hand when she moved apartments, only to realize that her priceless teddy bear with a voice recording from her late mom inside it had gone missing.
The beloved bear was in a bag alongside her iPad and Nintendo Switch - but the 28-year-old says she doesn't care about getting the gadgets back, she just wants to recover the precious recording of her mom's voice.
She immediately took to social media to spread the news of the missing bear.
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And incredibly, after Ryan Reynolds also took to social media to help reunite Mara with her beloved bear - offering $5000 to the person who finds it - she was reunited with her beloved bear.
He wrote on Twitter: "Vancouver: $5,000 to anyone who returns this bear to Mara. Zero questions asked. I think we all need this bear to come home."
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Speaking to CBC News, Soriano says her mother's voice was recorded and put in a custom-made Build-a-Bear teddy bear prior to her dying of cancer in June 2019 at age 53.
Mara says that as she and her fiancé were unloading their moving truck, she received a call from a friend who said that had been involved in a collision while cycling over to help them.
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In her "frazzled state" she said she put down the bag that had the bear inside and leaned it against the van - before driving off to go help her friend. However, she never told her fiancé where the bag was.
In just minutes, the couple said it was missing, with Soriano saying that she believes someone stole the bag.
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She revealed that after asking her building concierge to check the security footage, it showed a man taking the bag and running away.
"Lo and behold on the security footage, this guy was seen looking around, making sure nobody was looking first," she described. "And he just took the bag and ran."
But Mara said that the concierge wouldn't let her have the footage or take photos of the screen without the building manager's permission - who wouldn't be back in until Monday (July 27).
"It just makes me feel devastated," Soriano said. "I'm absolutely crushed."
Soriano told the news station how her mother recorded a message for her and had the audio put it in the bear shortly before being admitted to a hospice.
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She said: "At hospice her voice was different. Much softer. Not the mom I grew up with. That bear is the last memory I have of her speaking in her normal voice.
"She said that she loved me and she was proud of me and that she'll always be with me."
News of the safe return of the bear was broken by Soriano on July 29.
Posting a picture of herself with the bear, she wrote: BREAK OUT THE @AviationGin, @VancityReynolds!!! MAMABEAR IS HOME!!! #FOUNDMARASBEAR"
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News anchor Dan Burritt revealed on Twitter that the bear was taken from the original thief by two good samaritans and returned to Soriano on Tuesday night.
Watch her embracing the bear below:
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Reynolds was delighted to discover that the bear had been discovered.
He wrote on Twitter: "In happier news... thank you everyone who searched high and low. To the person who took the bear, thanks for keeping it safe. Vancouver is awesome. #FoundMarasBear"
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Needless to say, Reynolds wasn't the only one delighted by the news.
One Twitter user wrote: "Celebrating this! Yay! What wonderful news!!!"
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A second added: "I don’t know about you, but I really needed this tonight."
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Meanwhile, a third remarked: "Yay! I'm so glad it was returned! Now I can stop peering into dumpsters."
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Hopefully, that's the first and last time Soriano's bear goes missing!
