Crook County Sheriff’s Office announced that a recent burglary at Powell Butte Post Office, resulted in more than 200 pieces of mail being found almost three hours away.
The stolen mail, discovered by someone on Wednesday, was dumped on a rural trail off Highway 58 just east of Oakridge, roughly 120 miles away.
“We responded out there, recovered all the mail, which we were able to return to the postal inspector,” said James Savage the Crook County Undersheriff.
The Sheriff Office’s post on Facebook, with a picture of mail littering a forest trail, left many locals with questions.
Linda Stelle, a resident who’s had a P.O. box in Powell Butte for 27 years, told me she found out about the burglary after seeing a sign on the post office’s front door explaining the situation.
Some of her mail is missing and she heard the thieves also stole several rolls of stamps.
Stealing mail is a class C felony, which in Oregon, means a potential five years in prison, along with up to $125,000 in fines.
“Breaking into the post office and damaging it,” Savage said, “there’s other felonies as well, so it’s serious,” he said.
“I am unable to share details of our ongoing investigation of the Powell Butte Post Office burglary earlier this month. We don’t share details of our ongoing investigations to preserve the integrity of the investigations,” said USPS Post Inspector for the Seattle and Portland Regions Adam Sale in a written statement.
“If you’re in the Powell Butte area,” Savage said, “and you’re missing some mail, or you sent something and it hasn’t arrived where it’s supposed to go, be in contact with the postal inspector.”
The stolen mail will be returned to its original owners.
If your mail is missing and you’re worried about identity theft, please check with your bank and contact a national credit reporting company to place a 90-day fraud alert on your account.
“There’s probably stuff still out there that we’ve been unable to recover so please contact us or the postal inspector,” Savage said.
Though burglaries at the post office are uncommon, thefts at home mailboxes are not, so make sure to check for mail frequently.
