4-year-old’s Build-A-Bear had late mother’s heartbeat. It was accidentally donated
UPDATE: A new bear has been provided to the family by Build-A-Bear, the company told McClatchy News in a a May 3 email.
“The staff at Build-A-Bear were heartbroken to hear the news about the missing Rainbow Sparkle Bear in Tazewell, Tennessee. Understanding how precious furry friends often are, the team at the warehouse (otherwise known as the “Bearhouse”) reached out to the local radio station, WRIL, that originally aired the story of the missing bear,” communications director Jaime Ludwig told McClatchy News.
Ludwig said WRIL reached out to the family, which still had a recording of the late mother’s heartbeat, making it possible to recreate the missing bear.
“The Bearhouse team located a matching Rainbow Sparkle Bear and added the original recording the family provided to the new bear. The new Rainbow Sparkle Bear, with the sound file included, was promptly sent to WRIL. WRIL and Goodwill worked to unite the new bear with the family,” Ludwig said. “Build-A-Bear would like to thank WRIL and Goodwill for their helpful role and while we remain hopeful that the original bear is located, it is our sincere wish that this new teddy bear will provide a bit of comfort for the child and the family at this time.”
The original story continues below.
The search is on for a very special little bear.
A Goodwill in Tennessee has put out a plea after a stuffed tie-dye bear from Build-A-Bear was accidentally donated, according to an April 15 Facebook post from WRIL.
The bear belonged to a 4-year-old girl and had a recording of her mother’s heartbeat inside, according to the post.
“My daughter’s mom passed away and her grandma made her bear with her mom’s heartbeat in it,” the girl’s father, Tylor Kennedy, told WATE.
The father said it was the only thing his daughter still had of her mother, WATE reported.
Goodwill said it would reimburse whomever had bought the bear if they would bring it back to the store so it could be reunited with the little girl, according to WRIL.
In an update on April 17, WRIL said they had been in contact with the girl’s father, but the bear had not yet been found.
“Please, if y’all find it or see anybody that has one, just check or turn it into and I believe that somebody will get a reward if they dropped it off. I mean I know they’ll get their money back for sure,” the girl’s father told WATE.
The store manager told WATE that she believes the bear was bought by someone local and is likely still in the county. Facebook commenters have been posting photos of rainbow colored bears they’d found recently, but they haven’t yet matched up with the girl’s missing bear.
The bear was donated to the Tazewell Goodwill, about 50 miles northeast of Knoxville.
This story was originally published April 18, 2023 at 10:49 AM.
