Cops: Army veteran's wheelchair missing

A custom wheelchair with a large embroidered Purple Heart on the back was taken from the driveway of the Holbrook home of an Army veteran who lost both legs in Iraq.

While police searched for the wheelchair, Christopher Levi, 28, was already doing his best to move on -- emotionally.

"I wasn't that way when I lost my legs, so you think I'm going to feel sorry for myself over losing a wheelchair?" the former corporal said.

He hoped the $3,000 lightweight wheelchair was being used by someone who needs it more than he does.

"I feel bad for them," he said.

Levi, who was nearly killed in the 2008 roadside bomb blast that cost him his legs, depends on the aluminum wheelchair to get around when he's not wearing his prosthetic limbs.

He had left the wheelchair in his driveway about 5 p.m. Wednesday while going on some errands in his car, which is modified with hand controls.

Levi said he had the car filled with gas and grabbed a bite from a fast-food restaurant, returning about 45 minutes later.

The wheelchair, he said, was gone.

Levi, who had not taken his prosthetic legs with him, said he made it from the car to his front door by scooting along the ground.

Besides the Purple Heart, the blue wheelchair is decorated with a U.S. Army seal and military stickers. It was specially made for Levi at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., said Suffolk Police Det. Lt. Edward Reilly, commander of the Fifth Squad detectives.

Reilly said neighbors know Levi typically leaves his wheelchair in the driveway while he's gone for short periods, but an outsider might have thought the chair was abandoned.

"Let's get this guy's wheelchair back," Reilly said. "It has a lot of meaning."

Levi, who is using a loaner chair now, said his missing chair had been nearing the end of its useful life, and that he was due to get a new one soon.

But the Purple Heart patch on the back has sentimental value to his mother, who obtained it for her "hero."

"When they stole the wheelchair, they took something not only from me, but from my mom," Levi said.

Anyone with information can call the Fifth Squad, 631-854-8552, or Crime Stoppers at 800-220-8477.

All calls will be kept confidential.

With Olivia Winslow