GOLD BAR — Someone broke into the Gold Bar Post Office twice during the Christmas holidays, damaging locked boxes to steal mail.
The break-ins have been brought to the attention of the U.S. Postal Inspector’s Office, said Gold Bar Police Chief Dave Casey.
The initial burglary occurred between 5:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve when employees left for the day and 5 a.m. Dec. 26 when they returned to work.
Investigators believe the burglary happened after 11 p.m. Christmas Eve because the lock to the front door was broken. An electronic lock kicks in at 11 p.m. and police found pry marks on the door.
At least 16 post office boxes were broken into, Casey said.
Sometime after closing on Dec. 29, five more boxes were looted. It also appeared that the thief tried to reach through the boxes to gain access to mail in other boxes.
“It is a federal crime,” said Jeremy Leder, a spokesman for the U.S. Postal Inspector’s Office in Seattle.
The inspector’s office plans to work with local law enforcement agencies, he said. Gold Bar contracts with the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office for police services.
Often, there is a spike in mail thefts during the holidays when people send money, checks and gift cards through the mail, Leder said. What’s more unusual is the act of breaking into a post office rather than individuals’ unlocked mailboxes.
Even so, there have been other break-ins in recent years.
Thieves hit the downtown Arlington Post Office in February 2013, prying open about 20 post office boxes. The Sultan Post Office was hit the day before.
Anyone with information about the Gold Bar Post Office thefts is asked to call 911 or the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office tip line at 425-388-3845.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@heraldnet.com
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