Strangers go out of their way to help Sesame Street puppeteer find heirloom stolen from her

Often people have sentimental values attached to materialistic things that make them invaluable possessions. Sesame Street puppeteer, Kathleen Kim too had such a belonging given by her mother, per the Washington Post. The artist revealed in a TikTok video, that she tragically lost the same after a heartbreaking incident. Kim explained that she and her family had lost their home due to a fire after which she lost her mother’s necklace while moving her stuff. Kim came to her belongings only to realize that most of what wasn’t destroyed was stolen. “We realized stuff was missing,” Kim sadly explained.

She added that while most of her accessories were not expensive, people had managed to take rings and other items, including her wedding ring. “When I realized the red velvet jewelry case holding my mom’s necklace was missing, I kid you not, I lost it,” Kim exclaimed. The woman then explained that the necklace had come from her mother and described its features. “She had this necklace for 40 years and she had kept it through financial ups and downs. She could have sold it so many times but it meant so much to her,” Kim recalled. She then shared the time her mom handed down the necklace to her after she became a puppeteer and said, “My mom gave me this necklace and said, ‘This is a nice Korean thing you should have because you’re doing nice things for Koreans.'”

Breaking down while speaking, Kim shared a plea and provided more details in hopes of finding the necklace. “Whoever took it doesn't know that it’s worth so much more than the jade and the gold,” she said. Kim concluded the video with a request to help her with any updates possible in relocating the necklace. “This is my last-ditch effort at trying to locate my mom’s stolen jade necklace,” she said in her video. In several follow-up posts, Kim shared pictures of the necklace, experiences with it and more. She also shared other memories she had with the piece and persisted in trying to find her necklace.

Kim also heartbrokenly exclaimed, “Having gone through cancer treatment, I feel like I’m made of pretty strong stuff. But this broke me. I can’t remember a time in my adult life when I’ve been so upset.” Commenters rallied around the puppeteer and empathized with her. Many even reposted the picture and shared Kim’s story on their socials. @althea.in.hell wrote, “This has reached a second-hand photographer in Philadelphia. I’ll spread the news.” @flippintiffany said, “Operation Jade Necklace- Find it back and give it to her.” @boyjurassic1 exclaimed, “Nah you don’t steal from our beloved Sesame Street. Let’s get this necklace back!!”

@elaneuhhh said, “I hope you find it. I’m so sorry.” Another popular icon on the platform, Bobbie Harvey shared a video about the necklace calling on people to help and making a chain of posts to help Kim get her beloved heirloom back. A jewelry store owner John Quillinan also shared the post on TikTok adding a $2000 reward to anyone who brings back the necklace. Baffled and overwhelmed by the support, Kim commented, “WHAAAAAAAAAAT???? SIR. WHAT????? WHY?!!” Quillinan replied, "Because my kids loved Sesame Street and you deserve to have your necklace." While the same hasn’t been located as yet, people are in strong spirits to help the puppeteer reunite with her necklace and they are not backing down.

You can follow Kathleen Kim (@kaffykim) on TikTok for updates on the necklace and more content on lifestyle.