Reunited! Special teddy bear lost at Milwaukee airport back with 5-year-old

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (WMTV) - The saga of a very special teddy bear at Milwaukee’s Mitchell International Airport came to a happy end Tuesday morning when the little boy to whom it belonged came to pick it up.

“He’s had this bear since day one and slept with it every night. It has a lot of sentimental value to him,” his dad, David Burnett, recounted. “When we got back home he literally cried the whole flight and was still upset. So, it’s really special to him.”

The teddy bear became stuck at the airport after five-year-old Ezekiel tossed it into the rafters while his family was flying from Milwaukee to back home in Texas over Thanksgiving. The airport explained that his family had to board just minutes after, leaving Ezekiel “devastated” to be without his beloved bear.

The teddy bear was later turned in to the airport’s Information Desk back in January. A social media post of the stuffed bear went viral on Facebook, being seen by 4 million people worldwide and shared over 12,000 times.

Eventually, word reached the family who lost the bear and two days after the airport’s initial tweet, they took to Twitter again to write: “Exciting update! We have located the owner! We couldn’t have done this without each of you and all the media who helped to spread the word!”

This particular teddy bear is extra special because it is given to children who are born with congenital heart defects.

Airport Director Brian Dranzik said this moment was special.

“We’re very honored to be a part of this special moment,” Dranzik said. “Small moments like this, along with the bigger ones, are why we support our hometown airport.”

Southwest Airlines flew them from Dallas to Wisconsin to come get Ezekiel’s teddy so he could bring it back home.

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