The Grays Harbor Sheriff’s Office is investigating a crime that occurred over the weekend at the Copalis Beach Post Office.
Dozens of post office boxes were discovered interfered with on Sunday morning, said Undersheriff Kevin Schrader.
“About 30 post office boxes were open,” Schrader said. “Some had pry marks, some had broken locks, some had bent locks.”
The sheriff’s office is working with the Postal Service to identify the owners of the damaged boxes, Schrader said.
“We’re still trying to contact the owners and trying to get a list of things that were stolen,” Schrader said. “We’re checking with local surveillance in the area to come up with some leads.”
Schrader encouraged anyone with information about the crime or who had one of the post boxes that was hit to contact them.
“We’ve had a couple of burglaries at that location in the last year,” Schrader said. “If you believe you’re missing mail and you’re the owner of one of the post boxes, reach out to us.”
Holiday mail must-do’s
The holiday season sees many things: awful weather, unwanted family members and an increase in mail theft as opportunistic no-gooders rifle mail boxes for a quick score, Schrader said.
“We do see a lot of mail theft around the holiday season,” Schrader said. “Oftentimes they’re looking for gift cards or money getting sent to family members or friends. Post office boxes get hit this time of year because they’re looking for that quick gift cards or money.”
Porch piracy, or people snatching mail off of porches, driven by a rise in delivery services, also spikes during the holidays. Sending packages to a work address where someone will receive it during the day, or scheduling it so the package will arrive when someone is at home to take possession, is always a good plan, Schrader said.
“Try to be around when your packages are scheduled to be delivered,” Schrader said. “Many shipping companies will have the option to set up a time frame.”
Contact Senior Reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or mlockett@thedailyworld.com.
