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Stolen mail found along roads Thieves took it from rural boxes By BILL KETTLER If you didn't get that Christmas card you were expecting from a distant relative, don't assume Aunt Ruth scratched you off her list. Mail that was pilfered from rural delivery boxes during the Christmas holidays has been turning up around Rogue River, Gold Hill, Grants Pass and Medford. Postmasters say thieves raid rural mailboxes around Christmas looking for checks or cash in Christmas cards. "They steal it, they get what they think they can use and they chuck it wherever," says Rogue River Postmaster Bob Leedy. "People find the stolen mail when they're out jogging or walking their dog," says Grants Pass Postmaster John Fusco. Fusco has received mail that was stolen from Savage Creek Road, in extreme western Jackson County. Gold Hill Postmaster Don Parent has received mail that was stolen from delivery boxes on Foots Creek Road and Rogue River Highway. Stolen mail also has surfaced in the Medford Post Office. Fusco said thieves concentrate on rural mailboxes because the boxes are often clustered together and situated where few people can see a thief at work. Long rows of mailboxes are particularly vulnerable because it's hard for neighbors to know whether someone stopping for mail is a new neighbor or a thief. Relatively few mail thefts have been reported this season around Central Point, says branch supervisor Howard Leachman. In other years, thefts have been reported from boxes along Old Stage Road and Old Military Road. Mail theft seems relatively rare at the southern end of Jackson County, says Dave Jack, of the Medford Post Office. "We just don't hear much about it from Phoenix, Talent, and Ashland," says Jack. Catching mail thieves is extremely difficult, says Jackson County Sheriff Sgt. Dick Allen. People often don't report mail theft, and there's often no way to know mail has been stolen unless some of it is returned. Postmasters say rural residents have several options for protecting their mail. They can rent a post office box or install a heavy steel mailbox with a locking door. Gold Hill Postmaster Don Parent says more country folks are installing the hard-steel security boxes to discourage mail thieves. Each security strategy has a cost in convenience. Packages won't fit in the theft-proof boxes, and renting a post office box means an extra errand to collect the mail. "The problem with (a security box) is that you're limiting the amount of mail your carrier can put in there," says Leachman. "If you install one of those boxes, you may be coming to town more than you had anticipated." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA