Family lose toy elephant with son’s ashes inside on Disney trip
A family lost a toy elephant with their son’s ashes inside during a trip to Disney World in Florida.
Gabryel Atkinson died before the trip to Florida having spent time in intensive care after undergoing more than 50 surgeries and procedures.
His toy elephant, Bruce, was given to him during his time in hospital and he “slept with it every night” according to his mother, Liz Atkinson.
The US-based Atkinson family kept Gabryel’s ashes in a small bag, placed inside the pouch on Bruce’s back.
Pic: Liz Atkinson/Facebook
On the Disney World trip, the grieving parents took Bruce and Gabryel’s ashes with them, in a bid to pay homage to him while also celebrating the birthday of their surviving son, Sebastyan.
Ms Atkinson has now launched a “desperate” appeal on Facebook after realising the plushie was no longer with them after returning home from the Florida visit.
The memento, which she and her husband kept “in bed” with them before the holiday, was nowhere to be seen after searching “everywhere” and “every bag”.
She feels “sick” and is “struggling to sleep” after the loss, she added.
In her social media plea, Ms Atkinson listed the places the family travelled to and stayed at – having said she called each one, including filling in a lost and found form on Disney’s page – yet there was still no sign of Bruce.
The mother admitted to having trouble remembering simple tasks on the trip because of her grief for Gabryel and the “hectic” nature of the family holiday.
However, she recalled Bruce was with them on a Cocoa Beach parasailing excursion in Florida, with Sebastyan holding the toy on the boat.
She said: “This is where the trip gets hazy in my memory due to emotions and grief. Thinking back, I don’t recall Sebastyan bringing him back to our vehicle.”
With the help of the Cocoa Beach Marina, though, the mum has been able to confirm the elephant had made it to their car and onwards to their next destination of Disney Springs Resort.
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She now believes it was misplaced either at The Palazzo Hotel nearby or at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort (AOA).
The mum added: “[Bruce] either fell out in the orange parking ramp, somewhere at the Palazzo or if he made it into AOA – potentially was mixed into bedding that was changed by housekeeping.
“If you’ve found Bruce or saw him around any of these locations, please PM me!!! I need him back.”
Her plea, posted only a couple of days ago, has received more than 10,000 shares and more than 700 comments.
Vladimir Putin told Donald Trump he “will not back down” from Russia’s goals in Ukraine during a phone call today, the Kremlin has said.
The Russian president spoke to his US counterpart for almost an hour, and Mr Trump “again raised the issue of an early end to military action” in Ukraine, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.
In response, Mr Putin said “Russia will not back down” from its aims there, which include “the elimination of the well-known root causes that led to the current state of affairs,” Mr Ushakov said.
The phrase “root causes” is shorthand for Moscow’s argument that it was compelled to invade Ukraine in order to prevent the country from joining NATO.
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Ukraine and its European allies say this is a pretext to justify what they call an imperial-style war, but Mr Trump has previously shown sympathy with Russia.
At the same time, Mr Putin told the US president that Russia is ready to continue negotiating, the aide said.
The Russian president said any prospective peace deal must see Ukraine give up its NATO bid and recognise his country’s territorial gains.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, seen with Mr Trump in June, is pushing for Ukraine to join NATO. Pic: Reuters
He also briefed Mr Trump on agreements made last month, which saw Russia and Ukraine exchange prisoners of war and dead soldiers.
Specific dates for the third round of peace talks in Istanbul were not discussed – nor was the US decision to halt some shipments of critical weapons to Ukraine.
Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s call came after the Pentagon confirmed some weapons due to be sent to Ukraine have been held as it reviews military stockpiles.
The paused shipments include air defence missiles and precision-guided artillery, two people familiar with the situation have said.
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The decision led to Ukraine calling in the acting US envoy to Kyiv on Wednesday to underline the importance of military aid from Washington.
Kyiv also cautioned that the move would weaken Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against intensifying Russian airstrikes and battlefield advances.
Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s phone call was the sixth they have publicly disclosed since the US president returned to the White House in January.
Donald Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ has been passed by the US congress, sending it to the president to sign into law.
The controversial tax breaks and spending cuts package cleared its final hurdle as the Republican-controlled House of Representatives narrowly approved the bill with a 218-214 vote.
The bill delivers tax breaks Mr Trump promised in his 2024 election campaign, cuts health and food safety programmes, and zeroes out dozens of green energy incentives.
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), it will lower tax revenues by $4.5trn over 10 years and add $3.4trn to the US’s $36.2trn debt.
But despite concerns over the 869-page bill’s price tag – and its hit to healthcare programmes – Republicans largely lined up in support, with just two rebelling on the vote.
House Speaker Mike Johnson is congratulated following the vote. Pic: Reuters
Every Democrat in Congress voted against the bill, blasting it as a giveaway to the wealthy that will leave millions of Americans uninsured.
House Speaker Mike Johnson made the Republicans’ closing argument for the bill, telling Congress: “For everyday Americans, this means real, positive change that they can feel.”
Earlier, the House’s Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries gave a record-breaking eight-hour and 44-minute speech against it.
“The focus of this bill, the justification for all of the cuts that will hurt everyday Americans, is to provide massive tax breaks for billionaires,” he said.
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The bill’s spending cuts largely target Medicaid, the health programme that covers 71 million Americans on low incomes.
It will tighten enrolment standards, institute a work requirement and clamp down on a funding mechanism used by states to boost federal payments.
The changes could leave nearly 12 million people without health insurance, according to the CBO.
On the other side of the ledger, it will stave off tax increases that were due to hit most Americans at the end of the year, when tax cuts from President Trump’s first term were due to expire.
It also sets up new tax breaks for overtime pay, seniors and tipped income.
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The bill narrowly passed the US Senate on Tuesday after vice president JD Vance cast the deciding vote to break a 50-50 tie.
Mr Trump will sign it into law on Friday at 5pm local time (10pm in the UK), the White House said.
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