Teddy bear lost in Glacier National Park returned to 6-year-old girl

EBS STAFF

GLACIER NATIONAL PARK – A young girl from Ethiopia lost her beloved teddy bear on Oct. 9, 2020, on Hidden Lake Trail in Glacier National Park. The child, adopted from Ethiopa, had received “Teddy” from her adopted parents while she waited in an Ethiopian orphanage before her arrival to the U.S.

“He kept her company until she could come home for good,” the girl’s parents said in Glacier National Park’s Facebook post.

When conducting postseason cleanup, Glacier park rangers found the teddy bear buried in the snow. Due to the bad shape Teddy was in, most would have thrown the bear away. But ranger Tom Mazzarisi didn’t feel right doing that.

“Bears are my passion,” Mazzarisi said in the Facebook post. “I just didn’t have the heart to throw it away. There was something special about this teddy bear, so I adopted him and named him Caesar.”

Caesar rode around on the dashboard of Mazzarisi’s patrol car, helping keep the public and wildlife safe all year long, according to the park’s post.

This fall, a friend of Teddy’s first owners happened to be in the park in the right place at the right time. She spotted Teddy, now named Caesar, on the patrol car dashboard and left a note on the car. On Oct. 6, Teddy made his way back home to his true owner after a long year apart.