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WEST JORDAN — Police were investigating Monday in a neighborhood near 5200 West and 8900 South after two men were caught on surveillance video going through mailboxes.
Neighbors said thieves ripped through envelopes and small packages, apparently looking for cash or gift cards.
Annette Lyon first noticed the crime on Sunday when her mail was delivered in a very unusual way.
"My neighbor brought this stack of mail over and said, 'Hey, I found this on the sidewalk near our fence,’” Lyon said.
"All of the envelopes had just been ripped apart," she said. "It looked like someone was looking for, probably, cash or cards, or something like that. And, I mean, in my experience, most of these are just nice pictures from your friends.”
Lyon talked with other neighbors whose mailboxes had also been ransacked. Security video captured the thieves at work in the early hours of Sunday morning.
"You can see that they're opening the mailbox there," Lyon said, gesturing toward the video. "And then you see, again, someone else over here across the road doing the same thing.”
West Jordan police were called to the neighborhood Monday to investigate several reports of mailbox thefts.
"I was upset they had gotten into Christmas cards, ’cause I love getting them and other neighbors do too,” said Eva Cavaness, a sixth-grader who lives in the neighborhood.
Lyon said she got her mail early on Saturday but now believes there was a second delivery later that day. She's spreading the word on her neighborhood Facebook page, and neighbors have come up with a plan to keep everyone aware on social media.
"Let us know when you see the mailman has been in the neighborhood so we can all go check our mail at that time, because they often come at irregular times, and late, and things like that during this season," Lyon said.
She and other neighbors are trying their best to not let this crime dampen the holiday season. Instead, they hope their story will help other neighborhoods keep these real-life Grinches from victimizing someone else.
"As sad as it is to see … someone needing this or seeking, you know, little things like this, it's also great to see how our neighborhood comes together," Lyon said. "And I don't feel less safe, I feel safer because we have a plan and we all came together.”
