Park Ranger Helps Reunite Girl With Favorite Long-Lost Teddy Bear

By: Elise Preston

(CBS Newspath) -- Naomi Pascal's favorite toy has always been a little bear. She got the stuffed animal she calls "Teddy" just before being adopted from an Ethiopian orphanage in 2016.

"We have lots of pictures of her getting the bear, and that was definitely her first toy. And so that was - it was really special that she was able to have that until we were able to go and meet her in person," says Addie Pascal, Naomi's mom.

But last year, Teddy went missing when the family was hiking in Montana's Glacier National Park.

After a big snowstorm, Park Ranger Tom Mazzarisi spotted Teddy while out on patrol. "I noticed this little teddy bear, kind of with still snow melting off it, little bit off the trail," he says.

Before long, Teddy had a comfy spot on his dashboard. Mazzarisi estimates Teddy logged about 5,000 miles in his truck until friends of the Pascals visited the same park almost a year later.

"They just happened upon this ranger truck randomly and her niece saw Teddy in the dashboard," says Naomi's dad, Ben Pascal.

Teddy and Naomi were soon re-united. "I felt excited because I didn't know I was gonna ever see him again," Naomi says. Her mom says the little girl was jumping up and down from excitement.

The Pascals hope to meet Trooper Mazzarisi on their next visit to Glacier National Park.