Minnesota sailor who served aboard USS Lincoln returns home to find apartment ransacked

Updated on: September 25, 2026 / 10:58 AM CDT / CBS Minnesota

A Minnesota native who had been serving aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln for nearly 10 months came home to an upsetting surprise.

Connor Nelson was excited to finally get home to his apartment in Lemoore, California, after such a long deployment, but the first thing he noticed was his car missing from its parking space.

"And then I go to unlock my front door and it just pushes right open," Connor Nelson said.

Once inside, he realized thieves vandalized the place and took almost everything, like his TV, a laptop, shoes and even some fishing equipment.

Nelson's father, 22-year Navy veteran Justin Nelson, flew from Minnesota to help his son after the break-in.

"I know what it means to come home, you know, like what that means to a sailor, and it is such a bright spot, you know, in a young sailor's life to come home and, you know, get that relaxation, see family, see friends, and just, you know, hey, you have the sense of accomplishment, you know, and that was kind of taken from him," Justin Nelson said.

The family has started an online fundraiser…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/entertainment/