Young Girl's Teddy with Her Late Mom’s Voice Message Got Stolen & Ryan Reynolds Stepped in to Help Find Mama Bear

Mara Soriano from Vancouver, Canada, had a priceless item inside a bag of hers that was stolen: a teddy bear with her late mom’s final voice message. Heartbroken Soariano urged Internet users to help her find the irreplacable bear, which was a gift from her mother who gave it to her before passing away after a 9-year-long battle with cancer. 

Mara posted online: A Herschel Backpack full of our important documents were stolen out of an Alley in the west end today. In it was my iPad pro (full of videos of me and my mom not on iCloud) and Apple Pencil, my Nintendo Switch (RIP my Island) and most importantly, the two last remaining things I have that my mom gave me: Her Mickey Mouse wallet and a Build a Bear with her voice recording saying that she loves me. PLEASE, I don't care about the electronics, I just want my bear back (and maybe my citizenship card cause I can't do anything without it) . If you spot it anywhere, please give me a DM. Thank you.

In an interview with Bored Panda,  Mara recalled how her precious teddy bear got stolen. “My fiance and I were moving into a new apartment with the help of our two friends. We rented a uHaul truck to bring all of our belongings over, one of our friends decided to bike over to the new apartment and meet us there.” But as soon as they got to the loading bay, “we got a call that my friend was hit by a van!” Mara immediately rushed to tend to her friend in need. “I dropped everything I had and just assumed my fiance would pick up the backpack full of important items. Thankfully, my friend was okay, but by the time we realized the bag was gone, it was already too late,” Mara said. Soon enough everyone began searching for the stolen bear, including the police. But one known-face made the search go wider.

Vancouver-born actor Ryan Reynolds put out a $5,000 reward and an unlimited supply of gin for the bear's return. And soon enough... Mama bear found her way back to her rightful owner! Two good samaritans returned the bear after taking it from the original person who stole the bear. Mara's renuion with her precious teddy was an emotional moment. Reynolds tweeted a post of gratitude saying "thank you everyone who searched high and low. To the person who took the bear, thanks for keeping it safe" adding that his hometown, “Vancouver is awesome.” 

According to CBC, Marilyn Soriano's mother died in June 2019 at the age of 53 and recorded a special message for her shortly before going into hospice. "At hospice, her voice was different. Much softer. Not the mom I grew up with," she said. "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." Soriano, who was born in the Philippines and moved to Vancouver from Toronto five years prior, said the bear not only reminded her of her mom but also the place she calls home.  "The bear has a message in it in Filipino. It says, 'I love you.'" The custom Build-A-Bear, which she named Mama Bear, was fortunately in "perfect condition" when she got the teddy back. Although its signature square glasses were missing she was just grateful to have her gift back in her arms. "She's home. I didn't think she would come back, but she did." When Soriano squeezed the bear's paw, she heard her mother's voice and broke down in tears. "Mama Bear's home," she said through her tears.