The Dominguez family was left overwhelmed by the pilot's epic gesture
An American Airlines pilot flew 5,880 miles (9462 kilometers) from Tokyo to Texas just to reunite a 9-year-old girl with her lost doll, New York Post reported. Notably, the girl's beloved American Girl doll, Beatrice, went missing after a family trip. The family frantically searched through their luggage, hoping to find the doll, but to no avail.
Her parents then remembered that they last saw the doll when they were in Tokyo where they stopped before heading back to Texas, after a trip to Indonesia.
''Beatrice was a big part of our lives for the past three or four years. I am feeling sad because she is very sad," said Valentina Dominguez's father Rudy Dominguez.
Seeing their daughter dejected, the parents posted about the doll on Facebook, hoping to get some leads. Luckily, James Danen, a pilot from American Airlines saw the post and contacted the lost and found with Turkish Airlines at the Haneda Airport in Tokyo. He located the lost doll and then travelled with it while taking photos with Beatrice eventually reuniting it with the 9-year-old.
The pilot who happens to live just miles from the Dominguez family, drove the doll to their house and handed her to Valentina on August 21, leaving her overjoyed.
''It's my nature. I like helping people... that's just what I like doing. I was really glad I could do something nice for somebody,'' the pilot said.
"Beatrice means a lot to me. She brings me happiness and she's my best friend. When she was missing, when we got settled into our hotel, I felt very bad. I felt like my heart was broken, '' Valentina told Good Morning America.
The Dominguez family was left overwhelmed by the pilot's epic gesture and thanked all those who helped get the doll back.