Car stolen, home ransacked: USS Abraham Lincoln sailor's 10-month deployment ends in nightmare

LEMOORE, CALIFORNIA: USS Abraham Lincoln sailor Connor Nelson’s first few hours back in California after months at sea were not spent unpacking his bags or settling into his apartment.

He was trying to figure out where his car had gone.

Nelson had returned to Lemoore on Sunday, September 20, after spending 10 months deployed aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.

Instead of finding the sense of normalcy he had been waiting for, Nelson discovered that his vehicle was missing and his apartment had been broken into.

The damage inside was extensive, with thousands of dollars in belongings reportedly taken.

Sailor comes home to stolen car and ransacked home

Nelson said the first sign that something was wrong came when he looked outside and noticed that his vehicle was no longer where he had left it.

He then went to his apartment and found that the front door was not properly secured. Inside, the place had been turned upside down.

Among the items reported stolen were his television, laptop, shoes and fishing gear.

The incident is now being investigated by police, but the family does not know exactly when the theft occurred.

Nelson had been away for months, leaving a wide window in which the break-in could have happened.

For someone who had spent much of the year waiting to return home, the discovery was especially difficult.

“You spend the last 10 months of your life away from home, looking forward to the day you get to go home,” Nelson said.

Connor Nelson's father asks for help

Nelson’s father, Justin, has since appealed to the public for assistance.

A 22-year Navy veteran himself, Justin created a fundraiser to help his son deal with the immediate costs following the theft.

The money is intended to help replace some of the missing property, deal with the mess left behind and pay for temporary accommodation.

The family is also waiting for the apartment’s locks to be replaced and additional security measures to be installed.

The fundraiser has collected around $39,000, giving Connor some support as he works through the aftermath.

Nelson’s homecoming came before the USS Abraham Lincoln itself reached California.

The carrier left San Diego in November and spent months operating in the Middle East during the Iran conflict.

Its deployment stretched across roughly nine months in the region, including about 250 days continuously at sea while carrying out combat operations.