Social media hunt helps return of lost teddy bear containing urn of ashes
‘It means the world to me. It’s my mom and dad,’ woman says
Tracey Snow was sitting in a hotel in Edmonton when her aunt called to tell her that a teddy bear containing the ashes of her parents, lost during a cross-country move, were at a Husky gas station in Richer, Man.
"I was like, 'Where? Where was that? I don't remember being there,'" Snow said. "But when I saw the picture of where it was, I knew the exact place."
A small white bear with the ashes of her parents had journeyed with five people and three dogs from Dartmouth, N.S., through a vehicle accident in Ontario, to a gas station in Manitoba.
The bear fell out of the vehicle during a gas stop on Dec. 9 in the community, located about 60 kilometres southeast of Winnipeg.
While the family packed back into their pickup truck to continue their long journey to Alberta, the bear got left behind.
"My aunt said one of them didn't want to come to Alberta and so they dropped out," Snow said with a laugh. "They didn't like the cold."
'Truly a miracle'
Fortunately, an employee at the gas station found the bear, and when the staff discovered it was holding ashes, they dedicated themselves to discovering the teddy's owner.
"It means the world to me. It's my mom and dad. They both passed away within a year of one another," Snow said. "That was just one of the things I could go to when I was feeling down and upset and I could just hold, and it would give me a lot of comfort."
She contacted the gas station and Hubert Perrin, the owner, agreed to send the bear back to Nova Scotia, since the family doesn't currently have an address in Alberta.
"It's awesome — and in one day," Perrin said.
"They were so amazed and grateful that this had occurred and that someone was able to find them."
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It's not surprising to Snow that her parents would somehow capture attention across the country.
"That would be my mom and dad, they were always in the spotlight," she said with a laugh. "They are dead and gone and are still in the spotlight."
The family has had a long journey to a new province, but Snow said finding the bear was the Christmas miracle they needed.
"I just want to thank everybody. It was truly a miracle that they were found and that they can go back home where they belong and be with family," she said. "I just want to thank everybody from the bottom of my heart."