Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Someone broke into the blue mail drop bins outside the post offices in Centralia and Galvin over the weekend, and apparently Rochester was hit as well.

Centralia police this afternoon issued a news release saying mail that was stolen has been found near the intersection of Yew and Main streets in Centralia and they are investigating.

There’s no way to know how many pieces of outgoing mail were taken or how much could still be missing, according to Postmaster Jade Nevitt.

“All we know is someone pried open the blue boxes in Centralia and Galvin,” Nevitt said this afternoon.

Nevitt said postal workers last collected the mail on Saturday afternoon. They don’t empty the bins on Sundays, he said.

Centralia police were called about 7 a.m. today regarding the damage to the drop box beside the building at the 200 block of Centralia College Boulevard. An employee at the Galvin office reported her discovery this morning as well.

By 11 a.m., about two dozen pieces were found scattered near the sidewalk at Yew and Main, mostly ballots for the Centralia School District levy, according to Officer John Panco. The items were taken back to the post office, he said.

Police advise anyone who believes their mail was taken to contact the postmaster, and anyone with questions about their ballot should contact the county auditor.

Nevitt, who is in charge of both Galvin and Centralia, said the stolen mail that was brought to them will be mailed back to the sender, along with a letter explaining what they know and what the victim needs to do to protect against possible identity theft.

Only the sender will know if everything they put in the envelope is still there, he said.

Anyone who thinks they may be a victim, should visit the post office to pick up a form they’ll need to forward to the postal service, according to Nevitt.

Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter

This entry was posted on Monday, January 27th, 2014 at 6:14 pm and is filed under News briefs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.