On Christmas Eve, multi-unit mailboxes that serve townhomes and apartment complexes in several West Eugene neighborhoods were forced open, and emptied.

Resident Ericka Thessen said she had a Christmas gift stolen, but the thing she’s most frustrated about is the loss of her mailbox. She now has to go to the Post Office during business hours with a photo ID to get her mail.

“I don’t know how much this person got from stealing all the mail,” she said. “But unfortunately the fallout for all of us affected, especially those who are low-income, or don’t have transportation, or are mobility impaired, it’s a pretty big hassle.”

Thessen, who’s also a Eugene 4J school board member, said postal officials told her replacement boxes might not arrive for a year. In the meantime, she’s organized a weekly carpool to help a few older neighbors pick up their mail at the post office.

“We used to have this wonderful privilege and gift of getting mail delivered to our homes six days a week,” Thessen said. “Now most of us are looking at maybe being able to pick up our mail once a week around our work schedules and people being able to find transportation.”

In an email Monday, Eugene Police Department spokesperson Melinda McLaughlin said officers had taken three separate incident reports of a man in a white pickup truck with tires in the back prying open mailboxes in West Eugene. The thefts occurred on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

She said around the holidays residents should do what they can to make sure their mail is picked up right away, and contact the post office if they suspect a potential theft.

She said anyone who sees a theft in progress should call 911. If they have information about last week’s incidents, or security camera footage, they should contact the Eugene Police Department’s non-emergency line: 541-682-5111.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service did not respond to a list of questions from KLCC by deadline.

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News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/01/02/mailbox-theft-eugene-christmas/