A four-year-old girl in Tennessee is desperately trying to find a teddy bear that contains an important piece of her late mom.
As reported by ABC News affiliate KAKE News, the unnamed child suddenly found herself without the important stuffed toy after it was accidentally donated to a local Goodwill store in Tazewell (a town in Claiborne County, Tennessee).
But this isn't just any old teddy bear. This particular toy is an instantly recognizable Build-A-Bear tye dye bear that contains a recording of a heartbeat that belonged to the girl's late mom.
The story first gained traction on social media after it was shared by the Facebook page of a local radio station, The Big ONE 106.3 FM WRIL.
In the post, staff at the station write: "We are following a story out of Tazewell, Tn about a Build-A-Bear accidentally donated to the local Goodwill which contained a recording of a woman's heartbeat that passed away. The bear belongs to her 4-year-old child."
The post also contained pictures showing two similar tye-dye teddy bears, as well as the note that was posted at the Tazewell Goodwill store, which read:
"We are [in] search of a [tye-dyed BUILD A BEAR] that was accidentally donated. This bear is the only thing of a departed mother that a little girl has. PLEASE if you have it, return to this store so we can reunite them. You will be reimbursed. This bear has the [mother's] heartbeat in it."
Underneath, a handwritten note reads: "Daughter is 4 yrs old. And really wants it back."
That particular post has now been shared more than 16,000 - with the hopes that somebody on social media will recognize the lost bear and be able to reunite it with the young child.
And the comments were just as hopeful, with one person writing: "Praying it is found and returned to this precious little girl. If you have it or know who does. Please return it to the Goodwill so it can be reunited with this sweet girl."
A second added: "Speaking from experience, if that recording isn’t saved anywhere else please save it once returned. The batteries in those bears die and they cannot recover the sound."
And a third wrote: "I need to know if this gets returned. This is heartbreaking."
Some people were even offering to personally provide a reward to the person that finds the bear.
Anybody who has ever lost a parent or loved one will attest to the fact that possessions such as this bear really do go a long way in helping with the grieving process. So let's do our best to find this bear!
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