Waite Park police say a search after the traffic stop last week turned up a significant amount of mail taken from boxes in St. Cloud, Sauk Rapids, Becker, Clear Lake and Clearwater, however, other addresses throughout Stearns, Benton and Sherburne counties are also listed.

 

The thefts included in-coming and out-going mail.

 

Police report it took quite some time for all the mail to be organized and cataloged by name. Most of the postmarks on the mail are from Jan. 14 - 20, although some packages date back to December.

 

The name of the suspect is being withheld at this time due to this being an active and ongoing investigation.

 

Authorities say the Waite Park Police Dept. is the contact for residents who think they might be missing mail.

 

Police suggest residents keep their eyes open for any suspicious behavior concerning area mailboxes. People are being urged to use the blue post office boxes to send outgoing mail instead of leaving the mail in ones mailbox with the red flag lifted. Police also suggest homeowners pick up their mail everyday and to stop mail service or have a neighbor pick it up if on vacation.

 

If one has not received mail one was expecting, check with the sender to see when it was mailed. If one has not received a check or credit card they were expecting, check with the sender to verify it had been sent. If a check was sent and it was not received, check to see if the check had been cashed. Police also say keep an eye on one’s bank accounts for fraudulent charges if one did not receive a check or credit card one was expecting during the last month or so.