A pad of checks from a house in Illinois that was leveled by a tornado ended up 40 miles away in Wisconsin.

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Christopher Bilda found the checks with a name and an address in Capron, Ill., on his property in Waterford, Wis. He was puzzled until his wife told him that there had been tornadoes in Illinois, The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported.

A reporter for the newspaper helped Bilda track down John Nichols of Capron. The reporter discovered that Jeanette Nichols, who turned out to be John's mother, was the most seriously injured person from the twister.

John Nichols called the tornado "15 seconds of terror." He was able to get into the cellar with his two children and escaped unhurt, but his mother was in another part of the house.

The family lost most of their possessions like the desk the check pad was on, which has not been found. But some items survived intact, including two plates that had belonged to Jeanette Nichols' grandmother.