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| Family hits I&M trail for clues in murder | |
| Sep 17, 2000 | |
| Cindy Wojdyla Cain | |
| The Herald News of Joliet | |
| Pertains to I & M Canal State Trail, Channahon | |
| Rosie Sarniak walked slowly up and down the Illinois & Michigan Canal towpath on Saturday with tears in her eyes and police fliers clutched in her hand. This was no recreational outing. Rosie and her family were on a mission to warn hikers and bikers about last week's murder on the popular recreational path. They also hoped to find someone, anyone, who might have seen what happened to her husband, Michael R. Sarniak, who was gunned down on the trail in broad daylight last Sunday. Police haven't been able to discover a motive, and no arrest has been made. »»» image »»» Rick Sarniak, from New Lenox, brother of Michael Sarniak, who was murdered on the I&M Canal path in Channahon last Sunday, puts up flyers along the path with friend Katie Howard, from Florida, asking for information from path users about the murder. Liz Wilkinson Allen / Staff Photographer »»» image »»» Katie Howard, from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, places a candle at the site along the I&M Canal path in Channahon where friend Michael Sarniak, from Chicago, was shot to death. Liz Wilkinson Allen / Staff Photographer Michael, 48, of Chicago loved nature, so having him die so brutally in an area he relished visiting is hard for his family to accept. "He was a wonderful man, you ask anybody," Rosie said, her voice choked with emotion. "He talked to everybody. He helped everybody. He'd take kids out for their first fishing trips or give them their first bug or snake or turtle." The Sarniaks were saddened at the feeling, voiced by some, that the victim might somehow have known his attacker or might have been partially to blame for the shooting "He wouldn't hurt anyone," said Michael's sister-in-law Mary Ellen Sarniak, of New Lenox, who is married to his brother, Rick. "They didn't even take anything from him. They just did it. It's just evil." Grieving and working Michael's family gathered Friday at the murder site to lay funeral flowers and light candles in his memory. They nailed a gold cross over police paint marking the tree where Michael died. And they posted a smiling picture of the murder victim under the cross. The Sarniaks and friend Katie Howard of Florida were back Saturday, armed with fliers featuring a composite drawing of a man seen running from the scene who is wanted for questioning. They stuck fliers under car windshield wipers, handed them to hikers and bikers, and nailed them to trees. Rosie was frequently moved to tears as she talked about her husband of eight years and the kind of man he was. It was a second marriage for both. "He was very, very handsome. Number One," she said smiling through her grief. "And he was very kind and loving. He had a very gentle nature. He loved his family. He loved his sons." Michael's son, Michael Jr., 19, and sons by marriage, David 20, and Tim, 24, all accompanied Rosie as she walked her path of pain. Reminder to be careful Some area residents continued to use the trail, regardless of the murder, but overall usage was down, said Detective David Margliano of the Channahon police. He also handed out fliers Saturday, and questioned people as they rode or walked by the murder site, just off the Interstate 55 Frontage Road, north of U.S. 6. "We have bike patrols out on the path, as they normally are," he said. "And the path has a history of being safe." People should always take precautions on the path, murder or no murder, he added. "They ought to be aware of their surroundings and notice people and notice things," he said. "And it's always better to travel in groups...always." Margliano planned to be near the murder site again today looking for witnesses who might have seen or heard something. "People are creatures of habit," he said. "Hopefully, we'll find somebody who saw something." The detective was appreciative of the Sarniaks' help. "I think it's marvelous. It's helping us. And we want to solve this crime." One Joliet couple, who did not want to be identified, said the shooting wouldn't deter them from hitting the path. But they did bypass the section where the murder occurred as they started their bike trip Saturday. "We're staying together, and we're staying in a well-traveled area," said the husband. "Things can happen like that anywhere," his wife said. "I just don't think it was someone going out looking for bikers to shoot." 'Loved nature' Michael wasn't biking on the day he died. But he traveled to the Channahon area often hiking, fishing and collecting bugs. "He loved it out here, he loved nature," said sister-in-law Mary Ellen. "He would look for food for his snakes." Michael kept a nature journal, recording animal habits. And he'd ride the paths with his sons when he wasn't working at the U.S. Postal Service distribution center in Aurora. That's where Michael met Rosie. They were married for eight years. She wore his Army ring on a chain around her neck as she walked up and down the path trying to warn others about the crime. "I can't believe there are women walking through there alone and still riding their bikes," Rosie said. The family will continue to help police comb for clues and witnesses. And they've set up a fund through Founders Bank offering a reward for information leading to the arrest of the killer. Contributions can be made to any Founders Bank. "How is anybody going to know (about the murder) if we don't do this?" Rosie said. "It's hard, yeah. But I think we have all the time in the world now. "For this to happen, it's so senseless. In one second, it changed everybody's lives forever. There's never going to be somebody like him again." Anyone with information about the crime should call Channahon police, (815) 467-1828; Will County sheriff's police, (815) 727-8574; or Crime Stoppers of Will County tollfree, (800) 323-6734. Callers can remain anonymous. Reporter Cindy Wojdyla Cain can be reached at (815) 729-6044 or via email at cindy.cain@ copleypress.com. |
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