Oh parents, when your little one loses their favorite stuffed animal, aren't you ready to move heaven and earth to find it? We all know how much those special plush toys mean to our kids. And so does this kind public servant. Indiana police officer Jason Cullum stopped traffic to rescue a teddy bear off the road. That teddy bear happened to belong to a little girl, Nikki Mayo, whose family he found up the road, desperately searching for the lost bear. Imagine how happy Nikki (and her parents!) were when they saw Officer Cullum arrive with the lost bear.
The Evansville, Indiana police department caught Officer Cullum's good deed on camera. The video shows Cullum stopping the car when he saw the bear lying in the middle of the road and getting out to retrieve it. Cullum tells Good Morning America that he stopped the traffic behind him, something you don't really see from the camera's perspective. Then he got back in and drove until he saw two people on the side of the road -- Nikki's family. As it happens, this was 8-year-old Nikki's first teddy bear, given to her when she was 4 years old.
Cullum's experience as an officer and a parent both taught him how important stuffed animals can be to a child's emotional well being. His son has a favorite bear, too. And officers keep stuffed animals in their cars for whenever they're involved in an incident with children.
We can all imagine what a sweet relief this was for Nikki. But what a relief for her parents, too! I hate that helpless feeling you get when your child loses something precious and you cannot find it anywhere. So I'm sure the whole Mayo family was relieved at the bear's return.
As for how the teddy bear made its way out onto the road ... well, we'll let Nikki's parents decide how to handle that question.
Has your child ever lost their favorite stuffed animal or toy? How did that make you feel?
Image via HLN