A child lost a beloved toy, and a town came together to find it

When Jack Steel's Lego toy slipped out of his backpack on his morning walk to school, he was heartbroken.

"It was quite a special Lego man because I made him," said Jack, 10, who had visited the Legoland Discovery Center in Manchester, England, over the summer, and modeled a Lego figure after himself. He named the toy "Mini Jack" and carried it with him wherever he went. "It did look quite a lot like me."

After he arrived at school on Sept. 14, he excitedly went to grab Mini Jack from his backpack. He noticed that he hadn't closed the zipper all the way, and quickly realized that his treasured toy was nowhere to be found. His heart sank.

"I was really sad," said Jack, who lives in Ulverston, a town of about 11,000 in Cumbria, England. "I thought about how I could get it back."

One idea came to mind: a missing-person poster.

Jack got to work with his crayons, crafting an elaborate illustration of the Lego toy. He labeled all the parts, including the eyebrows.

"Light brown quiff with matching eyebrows," he wrote, describing the toy's hairstyle. "Hawaiian shirt (blue with palm trees) and an orange stripe on the bottom," plus "dark green pants."

"He is very special to me," he added at the bottom of the illustration.

At the top of the poster, Jack wrote a message in big letters: "Lost!!! Has anyone seen this Lego man?" He also offered a reward of two pounds — about $2.50 — and included his home address.

"I thought I had lost him forever," Jack said in a phone interview, adding that he packed Mini Jack in his bag because he wanted to show him to his grandmother after school.

When his mother, Lorna Walker, picked him up from school that day, he told her about his missing Lego man. Although Jack seemed somewhat hopeful that his poster might help him track down the toy, his mother said he was holding back tears.

"He was really upset," said Walker, adding that he told her of his plan to put the poster on a pole along his morning walk to school. "It just made me feel sad."

So, Walker decided to share a picture of her son's poster on Facebook, hoping that someone in the community might have spotted his Lego man and picked him up.

"If anyone in Ulverston finds this Lego Man, please pop me a message. Jack made it at the Lego shop and lost it on the way to school this morning, so he is absolutely gutted," she wrote in a post, which was shared by dozens of people.

People sympathized with Jack in the comments, and one person offered to pick up something new for Jack at the Lego store.

While Walker was touched by the support, she was doubtful anyone would find the toy.

"I never in a million years thought it would be found because it was so tiny," she said, noting that her son has been a Lego lover from the time he was 3.

Jack's poster served its purpose. A girl who is a few years older than Jack found the Lego man during her own walk to school, and showed it to her mother. The mother stumbled upon Walker's Facebook post that evening and connected the dots. She sent Walker a message saying she found a toy that perfectly matched Jack's drawing and description.

Walker was stunned. "I didn't think he'd ever get it back," she said.

Jack was overjoyed. "I was really happy," he said. "I didn't think I was going to find him, and then when all the people saw the poster, they wanted to help."

Both Jack and his mother said their hearts were warmed by their community's response. Rather than the $2.50 reward, Walker offered the finder a box of chocolates.

As soon as Jack was reunited with Mini Jack, "I put him in a little car that I got so he will be safe," he said. "I want to make sure I don't lose him again."