DETROIT – A veteran’s car was stolen in Corktown, but it’s not the car that he’s desperate to get back; instead, it’s the bagpipes that were inside the vehicle when it was taken.
The car went missing in a parking lot seen in the video player above. They had been in the area all evening Saturday (Feb. 12).
Brian Leslie, who’s retired as a Lieutenant Colonel after 25 years in the Air Force and now is with the St. Clair County Sheriff Marine Division, is relying on someone’s honor.
“I didn’t start piping until I was 50, and I’m now 63,” said Leslie.
Leslie loves playing the bagpipes as part of the Metro Detroit Police and Fire Pipe and Drums.
“Our mission is to support the brothers and sisters that wear the blue,” Leslie said.
They can often be heard playing at funerals for officers, firefighters, and those who served.
“It’s one of those things you kind of do out of duty,” Leslie said. “When you fire up the bagpipes, that’s an instrument that goes right to your soul.”
The bagpipes were in Leslie’s 2007 grey Chevy Trailblazer that was stolen from a Corktown parking lot Saturday (Feb. 12) night.
“50 plus-year-old set from Edinborough, Scotland, go figure, but again it’s like an old friend,” Leslie said.
He’d happily trade the car for the pipes, especially before a month of St. Patrick’s Day events gets here.
“The car itself, if that can help somebody else, I’m all for it,” Leslie said. “But If we can get the bagpipes back in our hands, we can do more for some of the other fallen police fire and soldiers and maybe bring a few more smiles to some of the people in Detroit.”
If you know anything about the theft of the car, you can call Crime Stoppers, 1800 Speak Up and leave an anonymous tip.
Leslie figures the Trailblazer is a goner, but if whoever swiped it is watching, he wants them to know they can also drop those bagpipes at any police precinct, no questions asked.