Violation: Bend residents report mailbox vandalism as police investigate possible mail theft cases

(Update: Adding video, comments by Bend residents on mailbox vandalism)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) --Lorraine Yahnke has a mailbox near Keyte Lane in northeast Bend and says it was vandalized two weeks ago.

"The outgoing mail(box) has been totally ripped open, and the one below it could be gotten into," she said.

Sasha Peretti says her cluster mailbox in southwest Bend also was vandalized.

"Both of these, this area right here was completely ripped off," she said, "and both the boxes were opened. jhey left the outer two alone. but they actually broke into those two."

It's very worrisome to her.

"There's a lot of people who are disabled, unable to get out or aren't able to take care of business, and they're relying on the mail for, for instance, medications, cancer drugs, diabetic drugs, Social Security checks," she said.

 On the other side of town, in the Newport Hills area, another questionable mailing mishap occurred on Monday.

Steve Crozier said, "Came by to check the mail, and this door was opened right here. And it was very disconcerting, because there was absolutely no mail in any of these mail slots. And I had seen the mail delivery person at a nearby mailbox yesterday evening, at an earlier time."

 Crozier has lived in the area for 13 years and has never had an issue with the mail, until now. He says he was notified a package had been delivered, but the mailbox remained empty.

"My first thought was - it was all - it had been stolen," he said., "But I hadn't heard of any mail being stolen anywhere in Bend. Backlog? Well, you know, if we hadn't received mail since Saturday, there might be a bit of a backlog."

 According to Bend PD, 11 reporters have been submitted regarding possible mail theft, three on Monday of this week.

The U.S. Postal Service says they are dealing with staffing issues and are continuously hiring, which could contribute to the backlog.

Peretti said, "I've talked to probably half a dozen postal workers who are just overwhelmed by the lack of (staff) - they are working 10 and 12-hour days."

The Bend post office also said that when mailboxes are vandalized, their tech will immediately inspect and attempt to repair the boxes. If they are not quickly fixable, folks would have to pick up their mail at the post office.

"The problem is only going to get bigger as Bend gets bigger," Peretti said.

 Police could not provide any insight on whether these incidents could be tied to one or multiple groups.

Asked if she felt violated, Yahnke said, "Yes, I do."

The post office has not yet confirmed mail was stolen in any of the Bend cases. But they encourage folks to pick up mail as soon as its delivered and to sign up for Informed Delivery, to reduce the threat of mail theft.

The Postal Service also has been rotating routes for equal mail delivery coverage in Bend while they deal with staff shortages.

NewsChannel 21 reported in mid-October that a cluster mailbox in Tumalo had been pried open and mail stolen, including election ballots, which was then dumped beside a road miles away, on Bend's north end. There has been no word since of any arrests or progress in that investigation.