Russian couple offers $5,000 reward for teddy bear lost in Australia

A Russian couple has offered $5,000 to anyone who can return to them a beloved teddy bear that was lost somewhere between Melbourne and Sydney.

Insisting the genuine nature of his plea, Alexey Mironov posted a heartfelt request on Facebook asking friends to re-post his message as much as possible to highlight the family’s plight.

“This little teddy bear, despite being cheap and not very handsome, somehow managed to become an integral part of our family,” Mr Mironov wrote.

He said the little bear had travelled the world with him and his wife Irina, always slept in their bed, and had become even more important to the family since they had decided to leave their home country to build a life in Australia.

“Now he is gone. And with him gone a huge part of our life!” Mr Mironov said.

If that message did not convey his great love for the lost teddy, a $5,000 reward was offered for anyone who could bring the teddy home.

But it seems Mr Mironov was not overly impressed with the efforts of his online friends to share his March 30th post.

A day later, he appeared to castigate them, breaking down statistically the number of times – nine – that the post had been shared by his community of 239 Facebook friends.

“I don't see the point of having 'virtual' friends who are not willing to help even when the only thing they were asked to do is to make the re-post,” he noted.

“I’m asking you one more time – please help me to create the buzz!”

The teddy bear was lost on the night of March 13, somewhere along the Hume Highway, as the couple travelled back from Melbourne, where Mr Mironov had been competing in a fitness modeling competition, the Daily Mail reported.

The couple has since retraced their steps back down the Hume Highway, posting their reward notices along the way.