‘Just want to see him home safe’: Wooden bear gifted by late husband stolen in Mount Vernon

A cherished wooden bear was stolen from the porch of a Mount Vernon home, the police department reported Tuesday.

The bear’s owner, Merrylee, told “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio Wednesday that the bear holds sentimental value, as it was gifted by her late husband as a Christmas present in 1991.

“My husband and I lived in Kirkland at the time, and he had his own wheelhouse tree service in the Redmond Kirkland area, and he had cut a tree down and took the log to a carver out in Fall City, and had this bear carved by this man, I can’t remember his name, and that became my Christmas present for 1991 and it was our first Christmas together,” she said.

Merrylee would even dress up the bear for different occasions. During football season, he would wear his Seahawks shirt, on Halloween, he was Superman, or sometimes he would be casual with a green bow tie.

“He’s a very festive bear,” Jake Skorheim, co-host of “Jake and Spike,” commented.

Merrylee said the bear was wearing a red, white, and blue hat and matching scarf when he was stolen. He is approximately 4 feet tall and weighs 75 pounds. But beyond his charm, the bear is very meaningful to Merrylee.

Wooden bear holds sentimental value for Mount Vernon woman

“Quite a sentimental attachment. My husband passed away in 2018, so this is one of the things that he gave me that is very special to me. And like I say, he’s been sitting on my front porch since 1991,” she shared.

Unfortunately, Merrylee doesn’t have a security camera, and neither do her neighbors.

“I drove around the neighborhood this morning, and I thought to myself, ‘Here’s all these people out here with all this stuff on their lawns, what made my bear stand out, that they would come up onto my porch?’ Because they had to come right up to my front door to get him, and they had to have transportation to take him away. Probably have two men to carry him because he’s right around 75 pounds,” she said.

Merrylee thinks her stolen bear might have been part of a high school prank, adding she just wants to get it back, no questions asked.

“I just want to see him home safe and sound,” she shared.

The bear went missing Monday night from the 400 block of South 28th Street. Anyone with information is asked to call Mount Vernon Police Department’s non-emergency tip line at 360-428-3211.

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