Photo courtesy of Cory Gustafson Evan holds Onk the sock monkey after the toy was missing for three weeks.

ESCANABA — After a three-week-long whirlwind journey away from home, Onk the sock monkey — a beloved plush that had been lost in Escanaba during a Special Olympics basketball tournament on March 1 — has been reunited with his owner.

Evan Gustafson of Manistique left Onk in the locker room of the Escanaba Junior/Senior High School while participating on the team that ended up winning silver at the tournament.

When it was time to leave, Onk was nowhere to be found. Evan purchased ads in local newspapers in Escanaba and Marquette with his own money, asking if anyone had seen the monkey.

Onk had been a gift from a friend, a military veteran who found the camo-print monkey a good fit for an older, threadbare sock monkey that had previously been a friend to Evan. After Onk was lost, people reached out to the family with offers to provide replacement monkeys, which was “very much appreciated,” said Cory Gustafson, Evan’s mother.

“Even veterans contacted us saying (that) they wish they could help. Nobody could find a replacement that looked like that,” Cory said.

The Daily Press ran an article about the missing toy on March 20, imploring readers to keep an eye out and spread information about Onk’s true home.

That night, a call reached the Gustafsons that Onk had been located near Marquette.

As best as could be pieced together through the game of telephone, other people had been playing with Onk on the Saturday of the tournament. Parents and guardians scooped up a bunch of possessions at the end of the day, not realizing that one in the mix did not belong.

Once at the destination — somewhere between Marquette and Skandia, Cory understands — it became clear that Onk’s was an unfamiliar face, but the people he was now accompanying did not know where Onk belonged until a few weeks later.

“Thanks to media and Special Olympics staff, Onk was found and returned March 21,” Cory relayed, attaching a photo of her son smiling and holding the camo-print monkey.

It was coordination with Hiawatha Behavioral Health in Manistique and Becky Carey, director of Special Olympics Michigan Area 1, that the reunion was made.

According to Cory, Becky drove up to the Marquette area to retrieve Onk. The Gustafsons drove to Rapid River, where Becky met up with them and handed off the monkey.

Onk has always been a source of comfort for Evan when he needs to go to the hospital. Fortunately, Evan didn’t have to go alone in the interim before Onk was returned.

“It was really a group effort, and we just appreciate everybody’s help so much,” Cory said.