Rod Isaac couldn't believe it when he heard someone had robbed his parents' house. The thieves went after the usual -- money, electronics, clothing -- but then the unthinkable: his late father's cremated ashes.

"My dad means so much to me, for someone to disrespect him, there's no reason," Isaac said of his father, Ike Isaac. "My biggest thing is that they were gonna realize it and throw him in a garbage can, just dump him."

On Dec. 13, Rod's mother, Danna Isaac, left her home in Marysville to play bingo. When she came home and discovered the robbery, all she cared about was the maroon-colored box containing Ike's ashes that had vanished.

"Oh, I was really upset. It had me in tears for 2-3 days," Danna Isaac said.

Danna immediately filed a police report and one week later her son got a phone call; it was from Aaron Gunderson. The Arlington man was driving when he noticed an object in the road. He stopped to check it out and saw the name "Hiram Isaac" inscribed on the side. The 33-year-old said he immediately realized it was no ordinary box. Gunderson made it his mission to find the family.

He did.

Rod Isaac couldn't believe it. 

Gunderson recalled their meeting. "He said, 'Is this my hero?' I said I don't know about that, being anybody's hero," Gunderson said. "I am just glad I can return these to the family."

Ike Isaac died of lung cancer about one year ago. He was a veteran who served in the Air Force for more than 22 years. Rod was very close to his father.

"Over the years he learned to say I love you, he learned how to hug, and he became soft, so it was a good thing," Rod Isaac said.

Even after the break-in, the Isaac family said it will be a happy holiday, thanks to their Good Samaritan.

"To do something nice was a Christmas present to myself," Gunderson said. "I would do it over again in a second."