USPS customers finally have answers about a months-long mail mystery after they kept finding their boxes empty.
The residents’ complaints about the missing mail went unanswered so they ended up having to take action on their own.
The drama unfolded in Horry County, South Carolina, where United States Postal Service customers started complaining about missing mail last fall.
Packages and important documents, like government forms and paychecks, kept going missing.
And the mystery left victims in fear that they’d fall victim to financial fraud.
Fed up, a group of neighbors decided to take matters into their own hands by setting up a camera to find out what happened to the mail.
The surveillance cameras caught a group of thieves pilfering mailboxes in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
They drove up in a car and were seemingly unaware they were being recorded as they were seen opening rows of mailboxes.
People in the front and back seats were seen grabbing mail from strangers’ boxes and they even had packages sitting on their laps.
They struck just after 5 am and quickly sped off after raiding the mail.
NO ARREST YET
“It’s nerve-wracking,” one resident told NBC local affiliate WMBF.
Residents installed the camera less than a week ago, desperate to put an end to the thefts.
The footage was immediately shared on social media, sparking a flood of tips about the suspects.
Blake Wood, who lives in the area, said crimes like this are rare.
“Conway is a close-knit community, so this is crazy,” she said.
“I wanted to chase them down, but then I thought, ‘OK, the police got this.’
The community is now working closely with law enforcement to track down the suspects.
So far, no arrests have been made.
I wish for justice to prevail, with these perpetrators being properly punished and behind bars because stealing is illegal and goes against the values of our society.
Resident of Horry County
“These people belong in prison. Theft is a crime, and we won’t accept this in our community,” a resident said.
Police confirmed they are investigating but have not released a report yet, WMBF reported.
USPS didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment by The U.S. Sun.
USPS MAIL THEFT
In May 2023, the USPIS launched Project Safe Delivery to combat the rise in mail theft and violence against mail workers.
The program is a nationwide effort in partnership with state, local, and municipal police departments.
Statistics show a concerning trend: nearly 70% of Americans have encountered missing or stolen mail.
In 2023, package theft by porch pirates alone accounted for 115 million stolen items, costing consumers an estimated $9 billion, according to Forbes.
In some instances, mail was stolen even before reaching porches—taken from collection boxes or stolen directly from postal carriers.
The surge in theft is evident in the data, as highlighted by the US Government Accountability Office which recorded close to 600 cases of robbery targeting postal employees in the fiscal year 2023, a stark rise from the mere 90 incidents reported in 2019.
