- April 19, 2024
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The teddy bear was last seen dressed her swimwear attire for the summer (Courtesy photo).
The Gibel family dresses up the teddy bear for every season, including Christmas (Courtesy photo).
A girl only known by the name "Anna," left her favorite teddy bear for the Gibel family to have (Photo by Emily Blackwood).
A girl only known by the name "Anna," left her favorite teddy bear for the Gibel family to have (Photo by Emily Blackwood).
The Gibel family currently has a sign in their front yard asking the person who stole their bear to please return it (Photo by Emily Blackwood).
For the past week, the corner of the Gibel family's lawn has been usually empty, after the neighborhood's favorite teddy bear was stolen in the middle of the night. But thanks to a sweet gesture from a little girl only known as "Anna," that corner will be home to a dressed up teddy once again.
"We noticed that your bear was missing and we love driving by to see it," a note left with a very large teddy bear read. "This bear was given to me when I was a babby (original spelling) and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did."
A neighbor of Joyce Gibel's found Anna's bear, and called to let her know that they no longer had to buy a new one.
"My neighbor is going to put the teddy bear in the garage, and we’ll put it out when we get back," Gibel said. "We're going to laminate the letter and put it with the bear. We have no idea who Anna is."
The original bear — who was last seen in a black bikini with sunglasses and a rainbow umbrella — was stolen July 16 sometime after Gibel got home from her job at Halifax Health. The bear was tied to a wooden bench, which got busted up when the bear was taken.
The family bought the bear when they purchased the house about 14 months ago. The house used to be known as the "Helicopter House," for the larger helicopter the original owner had outside. Gibel said they wanted to continue the tradition, but didn't have enough money to purchase the helicopter, so they became the teddy bear house instead.
"We started with a Halloween outfit," she said. "Now she has Super Bowl outfits, Christmas, Easter and I just put on her bathing suit for summer. People would come take pictures of her. I had one lady tell me, 'I would wake up grumpy, and I would come around and see the teddy, and she would put a smile on my face.'"
If anyone knows who Anna is, the Gibel family would love to thank her for their new bear. Please call 257-2049.
