Navy Lt.'s truck gets stolen during Dallas Christmas visit

A Navy Lieutenant's prized possession was stolen from him on Christmas Eve.

It happened while he was visiting family in North Texas.

“My favorite thing about the truck is that it never left me stranded, until now, but it's not its fault,” said Lt. Clif Bukowsky.

His 2002 Ford F-250 Super Duty truck was more like a faithful friend than just a way to get around.

“It had been a dream of mine for a long time to have that truck, a big part of me,” he said. “That's what I did in my free time; worked on my truck, kept it up. It wasn't the best truck, but it was my truck.”

So he was in disbelief Christmas Eve morning when he walked out of the La Quinta Inn on North Central Expressway and his truck was not where he parked it.

“I was stunned,” said Bukowsky. “I walked out there, and I just stood there and kept thinking that it might appear, thinking my eyes were glazed over from waking up. Unfortunately, it never did."

But Bukowsky believes it's not too late for his truck to appear on the side of the road if whoever took it hears this story.

“I'm sorry you're in the position you're in that you have to steal other people's vehicles,” said Bukowsky. “I hope you find it in your heart…just do the right thing."

The truck is easily recognizable. It's lifted six inches with 37-inch wheels and has Florida plates with a sailfish.

“It's not inconspicuous at all,” he said.

Bukowsky is certain he had locked his truck, and he has the keys, so he's not sure how the thief managed to start it.

“I have no idea, personally, how they would’ve gotten it to start,” he said. “Once we went back and looked at the parking space, police officers noticed the broken glass on the ground. I'm assuming they broke the window to get in.”

Bukowsky got the truck when he was in the Naval Academy.

He's spent countless hours and a lot of money fixing it up. He’s not sure if he'll be able to find all the receipts to prove the upgrades to his insurance company.

“I was planning on keeping this one until the wheels fell off and then put them back on,” he said.

He’s hoping he'll still have that chance.

Bukowsky lives in Virginia now. He plans to rent a small car to get back with his girlfriend and his dog.

It will run him $350.

The hotel may have captured the theft with its surveillance cameras. However, the hotel's general manager is not back until Monday, and the employees there now can't access the video.

But once police get the video, if they release it to FOX 4, we’ll be sure to get those images out.