YARMOUTH, MASS. (WHDH) - Police have identified the man accused of robbing a disabled U.S. Marine veteran in Yarmouth.
Police believe Kevin Lima is the thief who befriended, then betrayed the vet and his family.
Investigators believe Lima is in the greater New Bedford area, and they are asking for the public’s help to find him.
Sgt. Robert Watson and his family are from North Carolina and are on vacation on Cape Cod. They were on a trip to Cape Cod Inflatable Park Wednesday when they were approached by a man and his young nephew. The man befriended the Watsons and they spent the day together.
“He’s like, thank you for what you did,” said Watson. “We just started talking, hanging out, doing all the slides and everything while the kids were playing and seemed like the nicest guy.”
The families hung out for five hours when the Watsons decided to go on a slide together, leaving their beach bag behind with their new friend. When they returned, their friend was gone, along with their beach bag. The bag contained Watson’s hearing aids, money and all of their identification cards.
“What kind of person could do that? You let your guard down for a second and next thing you know, it feels like your life falls apart,” said Watson.
The family reported the theft to the police and Yarmouth Dep. Chief Steve Xiarhos decided to help them out by giving them money for food, shelter and gas. Xiarhos got the money from a fund set up in memory of his son Nick, a Marine who was killed in Afghanistan in 2009 when he was 21 years old.
“I know this is what Nick would have wanted us to do, help another soldier or Marine,” said Xiarhos. At the bank, other patrons helped out when they heard what happened. Restaurants and hotels have also offered to help the Watsons out.
“A lady just getting money out of the bank took it out of her own pile and handed it to us,” said Khristina Watson, Sgt. Watson’s wife. “It was a real blessing.”
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