NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
    • The Great NZ Road Trip
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • Deloitte Fast 50
    • Generate wealth weekly
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Lifestyle

'A beary good time': How the search for the owners of a Wairarapa teddy bear went viral

Vera Alves
By Vera Alves
NZ Herald Planning Editor and Herald on Sunday columnist·NZ Herald·
31 Oct, 2020 09:52 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
A dusty teddy bear found on the roadside in the Wairarapa brought Kiwis together. Photo / Wellington District Police

A dusty teddy bear found on the roadside in the Wairarapa brought Kiwis together. Photo / Wellington District Police

It's been a wild ride for a Wairarapa teddy bear spotted lost in the middle of the road just over a week ago.

The story Ted E Bear, which captivated a growing audience on social media over the last week, has now had a happy ending, as Ted (which, it turns out, is named Patch) has finally been reunited with his family.

New Zealand Police Senior Sergeant Jennifer Hansen found Ted when she was driving out of Featherston, in the Wairarapa, just before the start of the long weekend.

Ted was just lying on the road, in his now dusty hotel robe.

The police posted a number of photos to try to identify the lost teddy bear. Photo / Facebook
The police posted a number of photos to try to identify the lost teddy bear. Photo / Facebook
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I assumed it belonged to a family driving away for the long weekend and dreaded to think of a child arriving at their destination without their beloved teddy bear," the officer told the Herald.

"We put some Facebook photos up on Monday, in the hope of finding the family."

Can you help locate the family of Mr Ted E. Bear? On Friday 23rd October Mr Bear was located by Wairarapa Police near a...

Posted by Wellington District Police on Tuesday, October 27, 2020

The photos of Ted immediately went viral, as Kiwis came together in the hope of reuniting him with his family.

The post was even shared internationally, with people in Melbourne joining in to spread the word.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Meanwhile, waiting for good news, Wellington Police continued to update Facebook with what Ted was up to - and his fan base kept growing.

Ted E. Bear out on police duty. Photo / Facebook
Ted E. Bear out on police duty. Photo / Facebook

Ted was spotted out on police duty, hanging around near a box of doughnuts, checking CCTV and just overall doing very official police-y things.

Photo / Facebook
Photo / Facebook

Then, earlier this week, the good news came: "We think we've found Teddy's mum".

Photo / Facebook
Photo / Facebook

"On Wednesday, I got a message from a lady in Silverstream that it belonged to her and her husband. They'd got him when they'd stayed at the Pullman Hotel in Auckland with their twin granddaughters," the officer said.

"During lockdown, when we had the nationwide Teddy Bear Hunt, they put it on the front of their car and then they lost it their travels last week."

Patch meant a lot to the family, especially the young girls, who'd grown used to seeing it in the front of granddaddy's car.

Photo / Facebook
Photo / Facebook

Yesterday, the post everyone had been waiting for finally appeared: Ted - aka Patch - was finally home.

Ted (Patch) is back with his real family. We’re sad to see him go but we had a beary good time with him 🧸

Posted by Wellington District Police on Thursday, October 29, 2020

"It was quite sweet that we got to return him home after giving him a great adventure," Sanders said.

Commenting on how many Kiwis joined in on the search for the owners of the teddy bear, Sanders spoke of how heartwarming it was to see it all unfold.

"It was a sweet break away from all the chaos of the world, to see everyone jump on board in the search."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Patch is home, safe and sound, but will always be welcome to visit the police officers who looked after him.

Save
    Share this article

Latest from Lifestyle

Premium
Lifestyle
|Updated

How to read a nutritional label – and the red flags experts look out for

Premium
Lifestyle

The DIY dating scene powered by your married friends

Premium
Lifestyle

The low-effort activities that help fend off midlife spread


Sponsored

How to make it easier to buy and own property in 2025

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Lifestyle

Premium
Premium
How to read a nutritional label – and the red flags experts look out for
Lifestyle
|Updated

How to read a nutritional label – and the red flags experts look out for

A professor at the University of Otago explains nutrition labels.

10 Sep 02:00 AM
Premium
Premium
The DIY dating scene powered by your married friends
Lifestyle

The DIY dating scene powered by your married friends

10 Sep 01:49 AM
Premium
Premium
The low-effort activities that help fend off midlife spread
Lifestyle

The low-effort activities that help fend off midlife spread

09 Sep 06:00 PM


How to make it easier to buy and own property in 2025
Sponsored

How to make it easier to buy and own property in 2025

07 Sep 12:00 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP