A young girl's lost toy has been returned by warm-hearted cleaners who went out of their way to prove its misadventure was nothing but a fun holiday.

Eli the elephant failed to return home with seven-year-old Kiana Rundell after a weekend getaway in Adelaide.

"There were tears, she was fairly inconsolable to be honest, it was quite heart-breaking as a parent," mum Narelle James said.

"We actually had to lie with her that night to help her go to sleep."

The motel where the family stayed could not find the missing soft toy and it appeared lost for good until Kiana told her parents "he was in my bed, caught up in my sheets".

Her quick-thinking parents called the motel back and asked for the name of their linen laundry company.

"It was a long shot, but at this stage we were pretty desperate," Ms James said.

Laundry has a bit of fun

The two pages of photos showing Eli's big adventure as a linen cleaning service. ( Supplied: Narelle James )

Linen workers found the toy elephant tangled in the motel's bedsheets before taking time out to photograph Eli touring the laundry facility to reassure Kiana her favourite soft toy was in safe hands.

"When you've got kids you know how sentimental they get. It was a simple thing to do," Princes Laundry Services' Juliane Raroa said.

"It got everyone talking about their own kids and their teddies."

The reunion between girl and elephant back home in Berri, in regional South Australia, was a noisy affair.

"Kiana opened the express post and her face was amazing," Ms James said.

"This astonishment as she pulled out her teddy and she squealed, the noise went through the whole house."

'Blown away' by the effort of strangers

A two-page letter with photos of Eli the elephant driving a forklift, folding linen and even sitting in the boss's chair accompanied the soft toy.

Kiana Rundell tucked in bed with Eli after the pair were reunited. ( Supplied: Narelle James )

"They had written a letter saying he was just on holidays with them," Ms James said.

"He had had a wonderful time, that they had enjoyed having him there, they had looked after him.

"We were blown away that they would go to all that effort for a little girl they would never meet."

Eli has now settled back into life with Kiana.

"He is well and truly lost somewhere in her sheets again," Ms James said.

"He is a very special teddy and he's getting lots of love and cuddles at night, it's lovely to have him back in our house."