On Tuesday, a trip to the downtown Fresno library turned into a tearful outing for a six year old girl named Naomi. She had visited the library with her mother and brought along her prized possession, a teddy bear. The two left the library and when they got home, Naomi realized she had forgotten her teddy bear at the library. They immediately drove back and contacted a staff member to search for the bear, but sadly it was gone. Naomi comes from a military family and her teddy bear provided a sense of stability and comfort to her during all of her travels.
They didn’t have much hope they’d ever see their beloved stuffed animal again, but Naomi’s mother still decided to file a lost property report with the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office. Little did she know, deputies would take this case seriously and look for a way to once again make the six year old smile.
Teddy bears, along with books for the Sheriff’s Reading Posse program, just happen to be items deputies regularly keep in their patrol cars to pass out to children. Dispatchers relayed the little girl’s home address to Deputy Josh O’Bar and he made a plan to deliver a replacement teddy bear when he was not assigned to a call for service. Around 6:00 pm, Deputy O’Bar had a moment of downtime and stopped by the family’s home in Calwa. Naomi came to the door and Deputy O’Bar presented her with the surprise plush toy. Naomi and her parents were instantly filled with happiness and appreciation and she wasted no time in naming the bear, which is now known as Beta.
