After Celebs Offer Reward, 'Mama Bear's Home'

"Mama Bear's home," says a Canadian woman reunited with an irreplaceable teddy bear that was stolen while she was moving house last week. Mara Soriano says the bear—which held a message her mother recorded before she died last year—was returned Tuesday night by two men who told her they had seen security footage of the thief, recognized him, and retrieved the bear, the BBC reports. "I’m not gonna lie I kind of buckled. As soon as I saw (him) pull her out of the bag my knees just buckled,” she tells the Canadian Press. She tweeted a photo of herself with the bear, which plays the recording when a button is pressed. Soriano says the bear will have a seat where her mother would have been when she gets married next year.

Soriano, who had been searching Vancouver alleys and dumpsters for days, says that after she was contacted Tuesday by somebody saying they had the bear, she called the CBC reporter who shared the story and set up a meeting in a safe place—the broadcaster's offices. Fellow Vancouver resident Ryan Reynolds had offered a $5,000 reward, which was matched by TV host George Stroumboulopoulos. Soriano says she gave the finders an undisclosed amount of her own money as "collateral" until the reward comes through. "Thank you everyone who searched high and low," Reynolds tweeted Wednesday. "Vancouver is awesome." (More uplifting news stories.)