Motorcyclist hopes to reunite stuffed animal found near Osoyoos with owner

A motorcyclist from Vancouver Island is on a mission to reunite a stuffed animal with its owner, after finding it at a rest stop in B.C.’s Southern Interior.

John De Jong was on his way home from a 2000 kilometre motorcycle trip when his group stopped at a rest area east of Osoyoos, on August 25.

“It was quite a large rest stop and we went right down to the far end and there was a car sitting off to the side, and we stopped kind of behind the car,” said Jong.

“Then the car left and I saw it laying there. I picked it up because it belongs to some kid and I went around the corner where I could see the entrance to the place, but they were gone.”

The stuffed animal is a monkey named Boots, from the kids show Dora the Explorer. According to Jong the toy does have someone’s name printed on it.

He said he couldn’t just leave the stuffy at the rest stop, so Jong strapped Boots to the back of his motorcycle for the long journey home.

“It came from all the way up in Osoyoos to where I live – Victoria B.C,” said Jong

Once back on the island, Jong turned to Facebook to try and find the owner. As of Sunday evening his post had been shared over 6,000 times.

“It was insane. I just thought it’s going to be people in B.C. and then I was getting messages from all over,” said Jong.

“I got one [Saturday] from somebody in London, Ontario saying that she read the post and she thought it was moving.”

To prove that the monkey is yours, Jong is looking for someone to tell him what name is printed on the toy.

1:04
Mom helps reunite youngster with their lost Mickey Mouse stuffed toy