JACKSON, MI -- Nineteen-year-old Romeo Rogers returned from Walmart on Monday, Feb. 27, to find his wheelchair missing from his front lawn.

Rogers has spina bifida, a condition that never allowed him to walk. He needs his wheelchair at all times.

The wheelchair went missing at about 1:20 p.m. from Rogers' house in the 700 block of Oakdale Avenue, while he was at the store helping his mom with groceries.

"My mom called at about 1:15 p.m., so I met her there and got the groceries," Rogers said. "I was only gone for 10 or 15 minutes."

When Rogers is leaving home for a while, he pulls the wheelchair into his car, which he drives with hand controls. But that's difficult to do by himself, so when it's just a short trip, Rogers said he sometimes leaves it in his front lawn.

"It's never really happened to me before," Rogers said. "I've done it multiple times. I'll keep my head up and hope the people that took it will see and decide to do the right thing.

"I don't think anybody intentionally stole it, I think they thought it was trash."

Workers who were out in front of a neighbors' house when Rogers was gone said they saw a truck, possibly a Ford Ranger, with two men inside drive past and put the wheelchair in the back.

The workers told Rogers they didn't stop them because they didn't know the situation, he said.

Rogers is currently using an old wheelchair with a worn bearing in the wheel, which makes it harder to get around.

"Hopefully, it will get around and people will realize it wasn't trash," he said.

Rogers is a student at Jackson Preparatory & Early College and is currently taking classes at Jackson College to be an auto mechanic.