BRACKNEY, Pa. — Every kid has a favorite stuffed animal, and 8-year-old Nokomis Shirey of Susquehanna County is no exception. For Nokomis, it was Leo.
Back in June, Nokomis made the trip down to Florida to visit her dad for the summer. When she realized Leo the leopard was left behind in Brackney.
"Since she was 6 months old, we found him at a second-hand store and he was like 50 cents, but she had to have him, and ever since then, she carries him around all the time," Elizabeth Shirey, Nokomis' mother, said.
So, like any good grandma would do, Becky Stockslager packed up Leo priority mail, with a special message and photo taped to the box, expecting him to arrive in the Sunshine State within three days.
"As I approached my driveway, I saw the mail delivery person leaving my driveway and I assumed they got it. And then I double-checked everything and it was never scanned," Stockslager said.
The family has been in talks with the postal service with no luck for more than a month. As time goes on, Nokomis keeps asking for updates.
"It always leads back to 'Has anyone seen Leo? Has anyone called or texted about him? Did you find him?' And she just gets really teary-eyed. And you hate seeing her like that. Her heart is broken, it's super broken, and I hate that as a mom," Shirey said.
Nokomis' mom and grandma are now putting out a plea to anyone out there who may have come across the box.
"We think maybe they stopped for gas or lunch somewhere and he had fallen out of the car because it's such a small box. And we're hoping that someone comes across it and it's sitting somewhere because they weren't sure what to do," Stockslager said.
Nokomis returns back to Pennsylvania in a few weeks hoping to be reunited with her best friend Leo.
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