NEW YORK (PIX11) -- A 4-year-old from the United Kingdom has one wish this Christmas: to be reunited with his beloved teddy bear that he lost in Times Square just days ago.
The bear was gifted to little Archie as a baby by a family member, and it has been by his side ever since. A TikTok video is now going viral, as the family pleads for the bear's return.
"He was heartbroken," said Archie's father, Callum Devine. "I've never seen him react to something like that where it's like true sadness."
What may look like just a stuffed bear to some has been a beloved companion to Archie, who has loved his plush toy named Ted since the day he was born. It was a heartfelt gift from his aunt that the family used to compare just how much Archie had grown, as they took pictures of the two side by side monthly.
"Ever since he's been born, Ted's been there by his side," Devine said. "We wanted to make a bit of an album of Archie growing up alongside Ted and outgrowing Ted as he got older. So yeah, he's been literally with him from the beginning."
On Dec. 16, when the family took a trip to New York for the holidays, they say the unimaginable happened. Hours after an outing to Times Square, they noticed his longtime sidekick was missing. Searching high and low, and coming up empty-handed, the family returned home to the U.K.
However, they were still determined to reunite a heartbroken Archie with his treasured bear and made the TikTok video that went viral, pleading for help. The video garnered the attention of hundreds of thousands of people -- some who vowed to be on the lookout.
"We even had a New York police officer reach out to us privately, or reach out to [Archie's mom] Beth, and she said that she works in that location," said Devine. "She'll have a little look around some shops and stuff while she's doing her thing and that's like obviously what we wanted. We just needed as many people to know, who are in New York, to look out for this teddy bear."
In the spirit of the season, the family remains hopeful that Archie's Christmas wish will come true, and that New Yorkers can help make this heartwarming reunion a reality.
