Boulder Police Find Missing Stuffed Bear In Craigslist Personal Ad

BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) - Boulder police found a large missing stuffed bear that was stolen from the MontBell store on the Pearl Street Mall three days ago – on Craigslist.

The large, stuffed bear was stolen from outside the outdoor gear store sometime Tuesday evening. There were no witnesses to the abduction and there were no leads in the case until the store was tipped off to a Craigslist ad on Thursday in the "missed connections" section.

After the receiving the tip, Boulder police viewed the Craigslist ad, showing a photo of a man hugging the bear outside the Montbell store. The ad asked the women who "may or may not have helped" steal the bear to contact the poster. Police contacted the suspect through the ad, and the man confessed to stealing the bear with his friends.

The suspect told police that he and his accomplices from out of state took the bear camping in the Roosevelt National Forest, because they thought it would be "fun."

The suspect said they gave the bear to another group of out-of-state campers they'd met over the past few days when they left the campsite.

Boulder police responded to their campsite and found the bear -- being "held against its will," they noted in a tongue-and-cheek news release about the "late-night forest rescue" -- in a Jeep.

The stuffed bear does not appear to have been harmed.

"The bear does not appear to be injured, but he was missing his fishing vest when police found him," Boulder police spokeswoman Kim Kobel wrote in a news release. "The bear has not shared any information about what happened to him during the incident."