Veteran robbed, then stranded

PERKINS TWP. — When an elderly veteran became stranded in northern Ohio, local police and a veterans' organization stepped in to help. Earlier this month, a wheelchair-bound 72-year-old Native American veteran — named Allen — was traveling by Greyhound bus from Washington, D.C., to a reservation in Montana. He had traveled to the nation's capital to get information for his tribe on a federal program to purchase reservation land and build homes, according to Sandusky AMVETS post 17 commander Eric Scherer. While sleeping on a bus in Cleveland, Allen's bag, which contained his bus ticket, money and other documents, was stolen, Scherer said. It's not known if Allen went to Greyhound to explain the situation before leaving the city. He then hitchhiked and got a ride to Perkins Township. On July 7, police found him on Milan Road (U.S. 250) at the Ohio Turnpike exit. Lt. Richard Reeder of the Ohio State Highway Patrol's Milan post spoke with Allen, who asked Reeder for a cup of coffee. Reeder then went and brought a cup for him. Erie County Sheriff Paul Sigsworth then stopped to speak with Allen, who was sitting in a wheelchair with an umbrella covering it — Sigsworth said it was an "extremely hot" day — and the sheriff offered Allen some water, which he declined. "We started talking about his military service. He said he served during the Vietnam (War) era, but not in Vietnam," Sigsworth said. "I told him my son's a Marine." Sigsworth reached out to the Erie County Veterans Service Commission to get Allen help, and the commission referred him to AMVETS. Scherer picked up Allen at the Turnpike exit and provided him $150 to spend three nights in a township hotel before giving him another $210 for a bus trip back to Montana, AMVETS post 17 adjutant Carolyn Thomsen said. "He was stuck between a rock and a hard spot," Scherer said. Scherer said Allen had to wait until that Friday, July 10, to get his bus back to Montana. In the meantime, Scherer took Allen to get food and showed him around downtown Sandusky. Before he left, one of the families at the AMVETS invited Allen over for dinner one night. And before he departed, members of the post raised about $300 for Allen so he could pay for food and other expenses during his trip back, Scherer said. Scherer confirmed Allen made it home safely. "He called me on Monday (July 13) to tell me he did make it home," Scherer said. "He said it was great to have a good night's sleep in his teepee." Allen also wanted Scherer to give his thanks to Sigsworth and Reeder. The sheriff praised AMVETS, saying he "can't say enough about what they did" to help the stranded veteran.