5-year-old boy reunited with teddy bear lost at airport
By Web Staff
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MILWAUKEE, Pennsylania (WGAL) — A little boy has been reunited with the teddy bear he lost at Milwaukee’s Mitchell International Airport.
His bear’s story went viral on the airport’s social media accounts.
It was seen by four million people across the globe.
Ezekiel Burnett was at the airport with his parents after Thanksgiving.
They were visiting family in Wisconsin and flying back to Dallas.
Ezekiel was playing with his bear and tossed him high into the rafters, where he got stuck. His family had to make their flight and left the bear behind.
Ezekiel was devastated and cried the whole way home, his dad said.
Airport workers spotted the bear in January and got him down. That’s when his story was shared on social media.
Posts were shared thousands of times before eventually Ezekiel’s mom recognized the bear.
“My wife was sitting there, and a friend of hers had shared it via Facebook,” Ezekiel’s dad told sister station WISN. “It was just a fun story. She was just on her phone and then she just jumped up and then she said, she couldn’t even speak! I looked at it, and I was like, ‘That’s his bear.’ Without a doubt, and it just took off from there.”
Southwest Airlines flew Ezekiel and his dad to Milwaukee for the reunion Tuesday morning.
Ezekiel said he was “happy” to have his bear back in his arms. He said the bear’s name was “Original Teddy.”
Part of the reason the posts went viral was due to the heart on the chest of the bear. It can signify a child with heart issues.
Ezekiel is a healthy young boy who was gifted the bear at birth. But his family was happy their story was able to raise awareness for those who are not as fortunate.
Another interesting fact about the teddy bear saga: It has also earned Milwaukee’s airport the title of the most-followed airport on TikTok. They just surpassed Heathrow in London last week.
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