A 9-year-old boy’s cherished stuffed toy bear has gone missing after a family trip to an Atlantic City hotel casino on New Year’s Eve, and the child’s mother is making a plea for its return.
The boy, Callen, who has autism, left his stuffed bear named Tim at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino when his family visited on Dec. 31, according to a Facebook post by his mother, Margie Lynn of Philadelphia.
Callen’s birthday is Jan. 14, and his mother hopes the bear can be found by then.
“Tim has not been found or returned. Sadly, we are losing hope,” his mother said on Thursday.
The toy bear is important to Callen, because he’s had it since he was a baby — and it helps him feel safe, his mother said.
“I thought he was in the bag and should have triple checked,” his mother said in a Facebook post.
The loss has deeply affected the young boy.
“He’s sad. He asks for him every day. He asks me if I found him yet and when is Tim coming home,” his mother said on Thursday.
In fact, his mother said Callen asked his family to design a missing-persons poster in the hope someone will recognize the stuffed bear and bring him home.
A copy of the poster has been circulating on social media for a week without response, his mother said.
The family contacted the hotel casino, but received disappointing news. She said Hard Rock staff told her nothing had been turned into their lost and found.
“My heart breaks for him,” the mother wrote in her Facebook post. “2026 is not starting off good.”
NJ Advance Media has reached out to Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City.