Why are people seeing a 6-foot teddy bear walking across NJ?

So I’m scrolling through the New Jersey subreddit and I came across a curious mystery. Reddit user preshe8it posted this question:

“What costume is this and why is this person wearing it walking down rt 24 on
11/7/2022?”

Route 24 runs from Morris County into Essex County. The stretch pictured here looks more rural so I’m thinking it’s around Hanover Township but that’s just a guess.

Excited Reddit users started commenting that they, too, had spotted this unusual creature. One user, Kasceon, said they saw this costume-clad walker in Montclair and waved at him and "he just looked at me."

Yeah, as if HE's the strange one.

So researching the matter it turns out this is a guy named Jesse Larios. And for many months he's gone on crazy missions like walking/running from Los Angeles to San Francisco. Then from Los Angeles cross-country to New York City.

From what I could gather he's now turned around and making a run (at times a walk) back home to Los Angeles from New York City.

And. he's. wearing. a. bear. suit.

A cute teddy bear type of bear suit.

He's done this enough that by now he must be used to the shouts and the car horns. But how does he get used to the heat? Those mascot costumes get stifling. And he's running? Bizarre.

Click here for a video of the start of his latest journey just days ago.

It's like if the part in "Forrest Gump" where he keeps crisscrossing the country running were done by a teddy bear instead of a simple man. So why is he doing it?

According to his website (yes the teddy bear has its own website)

"This run is dedicate to everyone who’s been having a hard time dealing with any mental Illness, disease, physical health, finances, or feeling dis-attach (sic) from themselves."

It's not just about that though. Larios, 33, is also raising money for various charities along the way. He calls himself Bearsun when he's on the road.

So if you see a huge teddy bear ambling or running along a Jersey highway in the next couple days, now you know his name.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

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