Thieves steal nonverbal Fayetteville boy's communication device

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- It's been weeks since 9-year-old Leovanni Batista has been able to communicate with his family.

The boy has a rare chromosome deletion called 1p36 Deletion Syndrome, which causes mental and physical delays.

He is nonverbal and uses a speech device to communicate.

Thieves took that ability away and stole the Accent 1000 out of his mother, Jamie Santana's, unlocked car.

Santana told ABC11 she left the doors unlocked one night because the community is safe. She never imagined this would happen.

Santana filed a police report and posted on social media in an effort to get the device back.

She even contacted the company who distributed it and was told it would cost $7,300 to replace.

In case they are unable to locate the device, Batista's family started a GoFundMe page to help with the cost of a new one.