Johnsburg man finds more than $100,000 in his garden

A Johnsburg man tending to his garden Monday afternoon found an unexpected harvest — two bags containing more than $100,000 cash.

Wayne Sabaj found between $100,000 and $200,000 inside two grocery-style plastic bags in his backyard garden and contacted police Monday afternoon as a precaution that the bills could be linked to a crime, said McHenry County Undersheriff Andrew Zinke

“We are just speculating that it was taken from a residential or commercial burglary,” Zinke said. “We have no reports of any large cash thefts in the area.”

Zinke said the bags were not buried and looked like they had been in the garden for only a short time.

Police conducted a canvass of the area near the home on the Oakleaf Avenue just west of Pistakee Lake but did not come across any leads, Zinke said.

The bags are being processed for finger prints, and serial numbers from the bills are being checked, police said.

Zinke declined to provide a detailed description of the bags.

Anyone with any information regarding the money is asked to call the McHenry County sheriff's detective division at (815) 334-4750.