Tim Bardessono has been searching online for a replacement for Fluffy. His youngest daughter lost her teddy bear during their Waikīkī vacation, and he's desperate to get it back.

"I bought one on e-Bay from North Carolina but when it came, it was 10 times bigger and just not the right one," he said. "But even if it was, there really could be no replacement."

Fluffy the teddy bear helped his daughter, Dominique, get through a terrible loss. In 2003, the Bardessono's middle child, Corinne, 15, was killed in a car accident while traveling to visit prospective colleges in Washington state. The van she was riding in hit a patch of ice and flipped over.

A family friend gave the little bear to Dominique, who was 6 at the time, and she held on to it during those awful weeks and months of confusion and grief.

"It was just something she always held on to," Bardessono said. "She didn't really show her emotions. She slept holding that bear every night."

The Bardessonos of Prosser, Wash., were vacationing at the Embassy Suites Beachwalk in Waikīkī when Fluffy was lost. They think Fluffy got caught up in the bed linens and taken to the laundry on April 8. Bardessono contacted the hotel's housekeeping department, which in turn notified the hotel's laundry contractor to look out for the teddy bear.

There was a bit of false hope. While still at the hotel, Bardessono got a call saying Fluffy had been found. When a staff member showed up at his room door, she happily held out a stuffed monkey — somebody else's lost fluffy animal.

The Bardessonos returned to Washington, but Dominique is still missing the fuzzy guy who has been her companion for the last six years.

"It's about 6 to 8 inches long, dark brown and you can't hardly see the eyes at all. It doesn't sit up, it just lays down," he said.

He found a picture online of the right kind of bear, but the wrong color. Fluffy is dark brown.

Bardessono decided to offer a $500 reward for Fluffy's safe return.

"Even if somebody found it and gave it to their kid already, maybe if they realize how much it means to someone, they might give it back. It's just a piece of her already," he said.

Bardessono can be contacted at jah2014@yahoo.com.