SOUTH BEND — A South Bend man got some good news late Wednesday night. The ashes of his grandfather were returned to his apartment at the Arbors at Belleville Park. Robbers broke into an apartment and stole them along with thousands of dollars worth of electronics and housewares.

The ashes were found outside Alan Badgett's door around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday. His grandfather died nearly three years ago.

Earlier in the day, Badgett told WSBT for the last few years, the ashes sat in an urn next to a shadow box.

"I don't understand why anyone would take that,” Badgett said. “It has no monetary value. It's just valuable to me and my family."

Alan's grandfather raised him. He says he was a hard-working man who would help anyone.

"I remember times when we would take our family trips to Mississippi to see his family, people would be broken down on the side of the road and he would pull over and help them,” Badgett recalled.

And having his grandfather's ashes was a way to keep those memories alive, for Alan and the rest of his family.

His grandmother Stella Lee is in a nursing home. WSBT News went with Alan as he delivered the shocking news to her for the first time.

"I wasn't looking for him to tell me that somebody had taken his ashes,” Lee said. “That was the last thing I was thinking about."

The family says the ashes are all they had left of him. They prayed and pleaded that someone would come forward and return their most precious possession.

"Like I said, you don't have to bring him to us, just bring him somewhere where someone can come and get him,” Lee said. “Don't damage his ashes, please."

"He was just that … he was my grandfather,” Badgett said.

Badgett says he plans on moving out of his apartment because he doesn't feel safe there anymore. Police are still investigating the robbery.