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Stuffed dog Sam soars to the stars, disappears

High-altitude helium balloon takes cuddly toy higher than any has risen before. Then it bursts…

By AP 8 April 2016, 8:01 pm

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Sam the cuddly toy dog flies high in the sky after taking off from Morecambe, England Tuesday April 5, 2016 attached to a special camera and a helium balloon. Sending the toy dog into the sky was part of a science project by Morecambe Bay Community Primary School which joined forces with a local hotel . The toy dog reached an altitude of 12 miles above the earth's surface. (Morecambe Bay Community Primary School and English Lakes Hotels Resorts & Venues via AP)

LONDON — Sam the Dog has gone where no stuffed animal has gone before — into the stratosphere and the English unknown.

Teachers and pupils at an elementary school in Morecambe in northwest England strapped the white fluffy school mascot to a high-altitude helium balloon and launched him from a hotel roof Tuesday.

They recorded his rapid ascent some 15 miles (24 kilometers) into the atmosphere, much higher than planned, and captured the trip with an on-board video camera.

After the balloon burst, Sam disappeared. The school hoped to retrieve him, but he was missing from the site where the balloon’s camera and GPS system landed some 30 miles (50 kilometers) to the east.

They have launched a social media-driven hunt for Sam in hopes that someone in northern England will find him.