By Sam Bauman
Published: Apr. 13, 2022 at 4:25 PM EDT
TYBEE ISLAND, Ga. (WTOC) - If you’re a parent, you know the bond a child can have with a stuffed animal.
No matter how dirty or ragged they get, replacing it just isn’t an option.
That’s the case for 2-year-old Camilla and her best friend, Mrs. Bunny.
“My daughter never took a pacifier. Somehow she fell in love with sucking on the ears of this bunny,” said Camilla’s mom, Noelle Magness.
Her comfort, “this was definitely her little lifeline,” who was always by her side, “this bunny went everywhere with her,” Mangess explains.
But this past weekend, while getting ready to head home after a day out on Tybee Island, “I went to buckle her in the car and normally that’s the first thing I hand her in the car, her bunny and her sippy cup. Then I looked at my friend and said, ‘I don’t have bunny,’” recalled Magness.
So, she began retracing her steps, from breakfast at Sunrise, to the Tybee Island Pier, then out on the beach, but no luck.
“She cried for about an hour and a half before bedtime last night. She’s just been crying it out,” says Magness.
But despite coming up empty, she didn’t give up.
“I can’t even explain, when you have a child the things you would do for them.”
A sentiment Tybee Island Police Lieutenant Emory Randolph could relate to.
“You know, I’m a parent, I actually have a daughter that passed away at a very young age. So, seeing this young girl with a rabbit who meant so much to her I thought it was a chance to put some light and love into the world,”
So, Lt. Randolph posted a flyer to their Facebook page.
“It’s so sweet. I started crying when I saw the post,” said Magness.
But they didn’t stop there.
“I did some foot patrol yesterday and spoke to some business owners in an attempt to locate it personally. Other than that, we have made the patrol guys aware and they are aware the bunny is out there somewhere,” said Lt. Randolph.
And if you think they’re giving to much attention to a stuffed animal, “I’m not sorry,” says Lt. Randolph.
Because it’s really about more than just some bunny.
“We want our community to know that their problems are our problems and we care about them,” Lt. Randolph says.
So, while they’re not giving up.
“My hope is we have an Easter miracle and we bring the bunny home,” said Lt. Randolph.
Bunny or not it would seem Camilla may have found something else to bring her comfort.
“If we don’t find it you know eventually when she’s older we can look and I can show her how much the community tried to help her and how sweet it was,” said Magness.
Tybee Police say they’ve had a bunch of people reaching out to offer to send Camilla a replacement bunny but her mother has asked that instead people donate them to the Statesboro Safe Haven.
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