Mailbox thieves hit Deschutes River Woods

(Update: More comments from residents, sheriff’s office)

People living in Deschutes River Woods, south of Bend, are sounding the alarm on social media after someone started breaking into secured mailboxes and stealing their mail.

Jeremy Paule posted on Nextdoor, saying he discovered someone had broken into his locked mailbox, and his wife also saw mail scattered on the ground around other mailboxes in the area.

It was much the same story for David Krueger, who lives on Shoshone Road. He saw the post and soon found out he was a victim as well.

“It’s really disturbing. You got people coming around and taking your mail. You think you’re safe with the lockbox, and obviously you’re not,” Krueger said Thursday.

He checked his mail last week and again on Wednesday and noticed someone had broken into his mailbox.

The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office said it has received a report of mailboxes being targeted in the area of Baker and Shoshone roads.

“It’s an ongoing issue that we have throughout the year,” said sheriff’s Capt. Paul Garrison. “You can’t really anchor it to one particular time of year or another. It is an opportunistic crime by individuals that commit it, whether it might be juveniles or those individuals who are attempting to make a quick buck,”

The sheriff’s office asks anyone who sees anything suspicious to give them a call at (541) 693-6911.