Ryan Reynolds Is Offering a $5,000 Reward to Find a Woman's Lost Teddy Bear

Ryan Reynolds offered a $5,000 reward to anyone who returned artist Mara Soriano's stolen teddy bear, which contained a recording of her late mother's voice.

tokyo, japan april 25 actor ryan reynolds attends the world premiere of pokemon detective pikachu on april 25, 2019 in tokyo, japan photo by keith tsujigetty images
(Image credit: Keith Tsuji)
  • Ryan Reynolds offered a $5,000 reward to anyone who returned Vancouver artist Mara Soriano's stolen teddy bear, which contained a recording of her late mother's voice.
  • Soriano's mom, Marilyn, died of cancer in June 2019.
  • "I think we all need this bear to come home," Reynolds tweeted.

Well, this is just lovely. After Vancouver artist Mara Soriano's backpack was stolen, containing a teddy bear with a recording of her late mother's voice, Ryan Reynolds offered a $5,000 reward for anyone who could return the missing bear. "Vancouver: $5,000 to anyone who returns this bear to Mara. Zero questions asked. I think we all need this bear to come home," he tweeted, sharing a post by Vancouver reporter Deborah Goble. Dan Levy also shared Goble's tweet, while Zach Braff retweeted Reynolds, adding, "I NEED THIS BEAR TO COME HOME!!!!!!"

Speaking to CNN, Soriano explained that her mom, Marilyn Soriano, gave her the bear before she died of cancer on June 29, 2019. "It was so important to me because she had a recording on it that was specifically just for me that said she loved me, she was proud of me, and she'll always be with me," Soriano said. "I hugged it every time I missed her."

The bear wore black glasses, just like Marilyn. "It was her signature look," Soriano said.

Soriano was in the middle of moving apartments with her fiancé when she heard that her friend had been in a biking accident; in a rush to meet her friend (who's OK, Soriano told CNN), she put her navy blue Herschel backpack down next to the U-Haul she and her fiancé had rented. Security footage later revealed that somebody had walked away with the backpack, which also contained passports, insurance cards, citizenship paperwork, a Nintendo Switch, and an iPad.

As of yet, the bear has not yet been returned to Soriano—but the internet's on the case. "Everyone has been so amazing and we've been getting a lot of tips and leads," she tweeted.

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Emily Dixon
Morning Editor

Emily Dixon is a British journalist who’s contributed to CNN, Teen Vogue, Time, Glamour, The Guardian, Wonderland, The Big Roundtable, Bust, and more, on everything from mental health to fashion to political activism to feminist zine collectives. She’s also a committed Beyoncé, Kacey Musgraves, and Tracee Ellis Ross fan, an enthusiastic but terrible ballet dancer, and a proud Geordie lass.