On Nov. 28, 2025, 28-year-old advanced EMT Mariah Austin lost her partner Antonio Palomino. In the weeks that followed, she sought a way to help her 9-year-old son Azriel feel his dad’s presence at night.
At a Glance
- Mariah Austin turned to Build-A-Bear to give Azriel a comforting reminder of his late father.
- A misdelivered pink bear nearly broke the plan, but TikTok helped reunite the right voice with the right toy.
- The final bear, costing $80, now lets Azriel hear his dad’s voice every night.
- Why it matters: The story shows how small gestures can ease grief for children and how social media can resolve unexpected mishaps.
The Heartfelt Idea Behind the Bear
After Antonio’s death, Austin searched for a small comfort she could give Azriel. “I remembered you can put voice recordings in them,” she told News Of Los Angeles exclusively. “I thought if I got him a bear to cuddle at night, he could always tell his dad, ‘Goodnight, I love you.’ “
Finding the right recording wasn’t easy. After digging through old videos, Antonio’s mother located a usable audio clip from his indoor cameras-a familiar snippet of his voice. Austin ordered the bear, hoping it would bring her son some peace.
The Mix-Up That Made Headlines
When the package arrived, something felt off. “I saw it get dropped off on my Ring camera and immediately knew it wasn’t right,” she said. “The box looked too small, but I tried to stay optimistic.”
When she opened it, her heart sank. Inside was a pink Build-A-Bear, not the one she had ordered. “I was devastated,” Austin said. “I worried about who received our bear, and I felt awful knowing we had someone else’s. I just wanted both bears to go to their rightful owners.”
TikTok to the Rescue
Unsure what to do next, Austin turned to TikTok. She had posted a video once before to find a labor-and-delivery nurse, and it worked on a smaller scale. “At first, nothing happened,” she said. “We weren’t getting views, and I started to lose hope. Then it took off, and when no one came forward, I panicked that we’d never find it.”
Eventually, TikTok did what it does best. A creator named @bamaloungeflygirl reached out, saying she believed she had the correct bear. Austin was cautious. “I was skeptical because we’d had so much bad luck,” she said. “I didn’t want to get too excited.”
When the woman sent a video, and Austin heard her late husband’s voice-everything changed. “I broke down crying,” she said. “It was pure relief.”
The woman who found the bear also shared that she had lost her father at 11. Austin added that the bear was more than a viral mix-up; it was about giving Azriel comfort in moments when he needed it most.
A New Hope for Other Families
For Austin, the bear is a tool to help Azriel cope. “He tries to be tough,” she said. “But at night, when he thinks we’re asleep, I’ve caught him crying for his dad. Now when he misses him, he’ll have his bear – and his dad’s voice – with him.”
Looking back, Austin hopes others take something meaningful from her experience. “Don’t give up hope,” she said. “I went out on a whim and trusted that if TikTok could help me once, it might help me again. It felt impossible – but our bear is coming home.”
She also urges people to record loved ones. “Please record your loved ones. Document everything. You never know when that might be the last thing you have of them.”
Now Austin is thinking about how to help other families like hers. “I’d love to start a fund for kids who’ve lost someone important, so they can get bears with their loved one’s voices,” she said. “Build-A-Bears are expensive – ours was $80 – but every child deserves that kind of comfort.”
