Ever found $5 in your pocket you forgot about? Now imagine finding $600k. That’s about how the Bolingbrook, Illinois Fire Department must have felt when they responded to a call about a burning Nissan Altima and discovered $661,750 in cash stashed inside.

On a cold December day, the fire department was dispatched to I-55 to deal with the blaze engulfing the gray Nissan Altima. Upon arrival, they spotted multiple burnt bills scattered outside the vehicle. After further investigation, the police report noted, “a large amount of burnt currency was discovered in the engine compartment, and on the front passenger floorboard of the vehicle.”

If you’ve ever watched No Country for Old Men, your mind might immediately jump to drug money—and you wouldn’t be the only one. The fire department quickly called in the Metropolitan Area Narcotics Squad. Upon searching the car, the police uncovered a “half-burnt military duffel bag” stuffed with cash. In total, they recovered $661,750 in U.S. currency, though $55,000 was too damaged to be used. Along with the real cash, authorities also found six counterfeit $20 bills.

But that begs the question: why would someone with $600k on hand need counterfeit bills? It’s a mystery, and things only get stranger from here.

For starters, the car wasn’t legally registered. It bore a “one-trip” permit from Texas.

The officers interviewed witnesses, and one came forward with a bizarre account. The witness reported seeing “the male driver of the Nissan Altima pushing the vehicle while it was on fire.” And you can almost sympathize—if your car was burning and there was $600k on board, you might be tempted to push it to safety too. But why not just pull the cash out of the car? It seems the mysterious driver may have tried to do just that.

“The witness further advised that the driver was observed carrying two duffel bags and was picked up by a dark SUV, which then fled the area, abandoning the burning vehicle.”

So, who was this mystery driver? The investigation soon led police to a baggage ticket found inside the duffel bag, bearing the name Rodolfo Saenz.

If Saenz was the man who fled the scene, you’d think he’d have disappeared for good. Instead, when police summoned him, he showed up for an interview, claiming he was just as baffled as they were. He even admitted to owning the car, though there was no paperwork to officially connect him to it.

“Saenz advised that he purchases cars at the Manheim Arena Auto Auction in Bolingbrook, Illinois, almost every week and sells them to exporters in El Paso, Texas, for transport to Mexico.” So, what was different about the Altima? According to Saenz, he made a deal with the car’s owner outside of the auction to avoid extra fees—not illegal, but far from a $600k smuggling operation.

So, who was driving the car to Texas? Saenz explained that he hired a man named Jorge Garcia to tow the Altima to El Paso. But clearly, the car never made it.

It’s entirely plausible that a tow truck operator could have agreed to transport the car, only to drive it instead. Stranger things have happened.

But the real question remains: who was behind the wheel when the car caught fire? If it was Saenz, why would he risk showing up for a police interview? And if it was Garcia, how did Saenz’s baggage claim ticket end up in a duffel bag full of cash?

One final clue adds to the mystery: Saenz didn’t fight to claim the money left in the car, even though it technically belonged to him. If he had nothing to hide, he could have lawyered up and tried to recover some of the cash. Instead, he voluntarily signed away any claim to it, leaving the money—and the mystery—in the hands of the police.