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South Surrey woman catches mail thief in act

Resident finds her mail in vehicle of stranger who claimed to be delivering flyers
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South Surrey woman caught a mail thief in the act (File photo)

Surrey RCMP are investigating after Panorama resident Lorena Jensen says she caught a woman impersonating a newspaper carrier and stealing her mail.

After a series of property-related crimes in her neighbourhood, Jensen installed a notification sensor at the foot of her driveway earlier this month.

On March 9, the investment proved its value.

Jensen was inside her house when the sensor sounded, but at first glance, she couldn’t see anyone. She went to get a better look and saw a woman rummaging through her mailbox.

“I’m pretty sure I saw her take something out,” Jensen explained to Peace Arch News Friday.

Jensen said the woman, who appeared to be in her 40s, was holding a bundle of newspapers.

“I approached her and said ‘excuse me, why were you digging through my mailbox?’” Jensen said.

The woman reportedly told Jensen she delivers flyers for the area.

“I said, ‘you know what? It looks to me that you took something out of my mailbox. Could you open your trunk for me?’” Jensen reportedly asked the woman.

The woman opened the trunk of her black hatchback. At first glance, Jensen said, there was nothing unusual.

“But, it was kind of tucked in beneath where her spare tire would be, under that flap. I see paper sticking out. I said, ‘can you open that up there?’ Sure enough, she does, and there it is – all of my mail. My daughter’s name, my name, my husband’s name. She had everything.”

Jensen said she recovered the mail, which included banking information, letters from Canada Revenue Agency and a package from Amazon.

“I think she had the newspapers there so she can stuff the flyers, then stuff the mail into the newspaper… She really had quite the ruse, she’s good,” Jensen said.

Jensen told PAN that previous mail she was expecting was never delivered, but assumed it was lost.

“I really didn’t put two-and-two together, but now it has just made total sense. We need a lock on our mailbox, unfortunately, at the end of our driveway,” she said.

Jensen said she notified PAN and Surrey Now-Leader circulation departments, and filed a report with the police.

Surrey RCMP told PAN the incident is the subject of an ongoing investigation.



About the Author: Aaron Hinks

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