Ryan Reynolds offers $5,000 reward for the safe return of woman's missing teddy bear

By Megan Stone

Ryan Reynolds is doing what he can to help reunite a distraught woman with her lost teddy bear, which carries a special recording of her late mother's voice.

Reynolds, 43, alerted fans that the priceless stuffed animal went missing and offered up a hefty award for its safe return -- no questions asked.

"Vancouver: $5,000 to anyone who returns this bear to Mara. Zero questions asked," the "Deadpool" star tweeted Saturday and linked the call to action. "I think we all need this bear to come home."

The bear in question reportedly belongs to Mara Soriano, 28, who says the bag containing her Build-a-Bear, a Nintendo Switch, important documents and an iPad was stolen in the city's west end.

Soriano told CBC that the bear holds a very special message from her late mother, which is a recording of her saying "I love you. I’m proud of you. I’ll always be with you."

Vancouver: $5,000 to anyone who returns this bear to Mara. Zero questions asked. I think we all need this bear to come home. https://t.co/L4teoxoY50

— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) July 25, 2020

The 28-year-old reportedly said that the recording was taken just before her mother, Marilyn Soriano, was placed in hospice care. Mara says that bear holds the last recording her mother ever made while her voice was still recognizable. "At hospice her voice was different. Much softer. Not the mom I grew up with," she told CBC. "That bear is the last memory I have of her speaking in her normal voice."

Marilyn Soriano lost her cancer battle in June 2019. She was 53. Hopefully, with Reynolds' intervention, Mara Soriano will be reunited with her bear -- and the recording of her mother's voice.