The owner of the Midpoint Cafe in Adrian, Texas, helped a British couple replace their child’s rare Route 66 teddy bear after it became lost during on a plane earlier this month.
The mother, Riane Martin of St. Helens, England, posted a message March 5 on Facebook:
Bit of a long shot but does anyone work for or know anyone who works for Jet 2 at Manchester airport??
Sienna has left her bear on the plane flying back from Gran Canaria to Manchester airport this evening and she is devastated as am I!!
She has had it with her since the day she was born and through all of her operations. Plus we bought it on our honeymoon ready for our first baby so it really can’t be replaced.
It is black bear with white writing on it and it is from Route 66. (Please see pics below)
If anyone can help us find it I will be so grateful as will Sienna. She has gone to bed a very unhappy little girl. 😢😭
Please can everyone share this post so that we can try and get her bear back.
#findbobbybear
The Facebook message was shared more than 54,000 times. The Jet 2 airline conducted a thorough search but was unable to find the bear, reported the Parent Herald.
As efforts to find the original bear faded, people around the world decided they would search for a replacement Route 66 bear. That wasn’t going to be easy, either. The company that made the Route 66 teddy bear had discontinued the model years ago.
Dennis Purschwitz, owner of the Midpoint Cafe, heard about the couple’s plight. Six days after Riane’s first post, he wrote on the restaurant’s Facebook account:
After numerous emails, telephone calls, we were able to track down an exact duplicate bear. The bears have not been available for purchase since mid-2014. Thanks to Chuck at Chris Ta Bears, Inc. (designer and supplier of the bears), he provided us with one from his own collection. I received the bear today at home in TN and it is now in the hands of the US Postal Service on its way “over the pond” to it’s new home in the UK.
I did not want to provide this update until I was 100% certain that the replacement bear was an exact duplicate of her original bear and it was on the way to her home in the UK. Once I hear that Bobby Bear is in her hands, I will provide an update.
Thanks to all the people who have reached out to help find or replace Sienna’s Bobby Bear. It was amazing to see how this “story” has gone viral, including online news stories in the UK to a special Facebook page #FindBobbyBear started by Jet2 Airlines.
It brought a special smile to my face seeing all the good that does exist out there in this big world. God Bless.
Riane told the St. Helens Star:
“Two very kind men who have gone above and beyond for Sienna. This is going to be a very special and loved bear when he arrives. People have gone all out to help a little girl they have never met.
“Thank you again for everyone’s help in searching for Bobby bear. We are totally overwhelmed and can’t express our gratitude. It is amazing how kind people can be.”
Interesting coincidence: The Martin couple bought the original Route 66 bear in 2012 at the Midpoint Cafe.
UPDATE 3/19/2016: Sienna’s new Route 66 bear arrived today. I think she likes it.
(Image of Sienna Martin and her original Route 66 teddy bear via Facebook)
This is my little girl and we are overwhelmed by how far this story has spread and the kindness we have been shown. We cannot thank Dennis enough.
We will certainly be visiting him again next time we travel the route and will hopefully take Sienna and Bobby 2 along with us to say thank you.
This story reminds us to an unforgettable stop at the Midpoint Café in May 2012 on our trip „At 66: 66 days on and off Route 66 and the canyons“. After lunch we bought some nice souvenirs and had a long and interesting chat with the new owner. Meanwhile there was very heavy rain, but Dennis regardless accompanied us to the roadside billboard on the other side of the road to shoot some souvenir pictures. Back in the dry he wondered about our further plans. The idea was to stop at the Blue Swallow at Tucumcari. He was afraid that it was already sold out, picked up the phone and made a reservation for us. We got the last available room! And so we left the place luckily with a bunch of useful recommendations. We therefore suggest to all Route 66 travelers to plan a longer stop at charming and helpful Dennis at Midpoint Café. We still hope to come back one day.
Silvia + Hugo Panzeri, Switzerland