Texas woman finds human ashes inside white elephant gift

Dec. 28 (UPI) -- A Houston woman who ended up with an unusual teddy bear at a white elephant gift exchange discovered it is stuffed with human ashes.

Rakhi Desai said she was attending a holiday party about two weeks ago when she ended up with a teddy bear at the end of a white elephant gift exchange.

Desai said the bear's stitched heart made it unusual, so she decided to search online for "Neptune Society," the words on the stuffed animal's foot.

The search led Desai to discover the Neptune Society is a company that provides cremation services and its offerings include teddy bears to store a loved one's cremains.

"I read that and then I started to feel, and it's almost like little pebbles or rocks," Desai told KTRK of the texture of the bear's fillings.

She said the discovery made sense of the words on the bear's tag: "I hope I can bring you comfort in whatever life brings your way."

Desai said the Neptune Society told her it does not keep records that would help identify the owner of the bear, which her friend had purchased from an estate sale prior to the holiday party.

Desai said there is a name on the bear's tag that she is hoping will help her find the family it belongs to.

"It seems to be that this bear is very special to somebody and belongs in somebody's family," Desai said.

"Miracles happen every day," she said. "So, if there's a positive end to this story, that would be great."