Opinions vary on Prairie Parkway plans

"For me, there never will be a closure. The killer ruined my life forever." — Rose Sarniak

 As we stood there in a shaded spot of the Illinois & Michigan Canal towpath bike trail, a bicycle rider sped by. The rider's hair was cut short just like the suspect's hair.

   Rose Sarniak stared intently at the rider, and then she looked into the eyes of Channahon Detective Sgt. Dave Margliano. He shook his head no.

   "That guy is at least 100 pounds heavier," the cop said, without being asked anything.

   Like mental telepathy, Sarniak and the detective had the same thought. The bicycle rider had slightly resembled the composite sketch on the wanted poster nailed to a nearby tree.

   That sketch is of the man suspected of killing Sarniak's husband, Michael, on Sept. 10. The murder happened there on the bike trail, exactly 480 feet from the Interstate 55 Frontage Road entrance to the trail.

   It's remote and beautiful there, with trees that form a roof to shade the trail. A wide stream flows beside the trail. All kinds of the wonders of nature can be found here.

   This was one of Michael Sarniak's favorite spots. He had been coming to the I&M Canal trail for 20 years from his Chicago home. He liked to fish. He was a real nature buff who collected everything from bugs and snakes to stray dogs and cats.

   On that fatal day, Michael was there looking for grasshoppers and crickets to feed to his pet snakes and his turtle, Snickers.

   At about 3:30 p.m. that Sunday, someone shot him several times with a handgun. He wasn't robbed, and the motive for the murder remains unknown.

   Did he see something he wasn't supposed to see? Was he just a random stranger to the killer? Did he know the killer?

   Margliano, along with Sheriff's Investigators Ed Hayes and Ryan Shea, have been over the facts dozens of times, and they can't answer those questions. They've walked the trail and searched the woods and stream with magnets looking for a weapon. They've met with the widow and family, repeatedly searching for a motive to the murder.

   But the cops have hit a brick wall in this unsolved murder case. And at this point, they have no leads to follow.

   As for Rose Sarniak, she has taken the past year off from her job at the U.S. Postal Service's distribution center in Aurora. She and Michael had worked there together.

   Both had been married previously before they married eight years ago. Together, they have three adult sons.

   "My husband was my best friend," she said. "I still don't believe it happened like this. Life is so precious and can disappear so quickly."

   She said the family has continued to run on adrenaline for the past 12 months. They've gone through various stages of shock, denial, anger and feeling numb, she said.

   But they have kept busy, too. Busy building Michael's memory and busy helping the cops.

   Sarniak and the family have distributed thousands of fliers with the drawing of the suspect. They mailed 1,000 fliers to stores and shops within a 25-mile radius of Channahon.

   They established a Web site about the crime at [WEB SITE]. They helped to raise a $25,000 reward fund. And they are attempting to get the story told on America's Most Wanted.

   "Nothing will bring Mike back," she said. "But we need to know what happened."

   Sarniak said her husband, who was a shy and private man, might be shocked by all the memorials built by his family and friends. They've planted a tree in his memory in a national forest. They adopted a dolphin at Brookfield Zoo in his name.

   They donated cages to an animal shelter with a plaque in his memory. Four nature books were donated to a public library in his name.

   This week, a bench was installed in his memory at the entrance to the bike trail. The plaque on it shows a fisherman in a boat. The bench will be formally dedicated Sept. 8.

   Sarniak said the murder has seriously affected her family members, who have learned to look over their shoulder at all times and be aware of their surroundings. They attend regular meetings of a murder support group.

   She said her husband was a popular man with the children in their Chicago neighborhood. The kids would come to the house to learn about bugs. They would ask if Michael could come out to play with them.

   He was eager to tell the kids about his snakes and other animals. The day he was murdered, he had gathered a bucket full of minnows to feed to his snakes. The bucket was found in his car.

   Rose Sarniak told me about Charlie. Charlie was a crow with a broken wing. After Michael repaired the wing, the crow still couldn't fly. The bird spent the last of his days being cared for by Michael.

   But Snickers, the turtle, and two of Michael's snakes were given to his brother's family in New Lenox. Michael always found homes for the strays he adopted.

   One morning on the way to work, he hit his brakes to stop the car. When his wife asked him why the sudden stop, he replied that a caterpillar was crossing the road.

   "That's just the way he was," the widow said, adding that her husband even kept journals on his experiences with nature.

   But on that last nature hike, she failed to kiss him goodbye. She ran out to the driveway, but Michael was already gone that late Sunday morning.

   "I would like to look the killer in the face and ask him why," Sarniak said. "For me, there never will be a closure. The killer ruined my life forever."

   The Michael Sarniak case is the only unsolved murder in Channahon, Margliano said. With the help of witnesses in the area who heard the shots, investigators have been able to put together a time table within a few minutes of the murder, he said.

   They know Michael was at the frontage road trail entrance three minutes before the shots. For some reason, he had moved into that spot 480 feet from the entrance.

   As we stood there, Sarniak pointed out the row of flowers she planted last year. A wooden cross with her husband's photo is on one tree. Wanted posters with the suspect's composite are on two other trees. A small flag is stuck in a potted plant at the foot of one tree.

   "I've been here many times," she said. "I just don't know what more we can do."

   The $25,000 reward for information is collecting interest and ready for someone with the right tip. If you know something, call Margliano at (815) 467-5152 or Investigators Hayes and Shea at (815) 727-8574.

   Contact John Whiteside at (815) 729-6052 or send e-mail to jwhiteside@scn1.com