EBENSBURG —
Two women took advantage of holiday generosity by pilfering Christmas cash from mailboxes in two counties, Cambria Township police allege.
Investigators say charges are pending against the pair, whose names were not released Wednesday. They allegedly drove through municipalities in Cambria and Blair counties, stealing from mailboxes along the way.
“They went through the Christmas cards looking for cash, gift cards and whatnot,” Cambria Township police Chief Mark Westrick said.
Mail was stolen in Loretto Borough, East Carroll Township and Cambria Township in Cambria County and from Allegheny Township in Blair County.
“This has been going on for about a week,” Westrick said.
Late Tuesday, police said, an alert resident noticed the pair in a Ford sedan stopping at mailboxes. The resident took down a vehicle description and license number.
Township police say they recovered about 100 pieces of mail and a package when they stopped the car on Beulah Road near Route 22. Some of the envelopes were open, and some remained sealed, Westrick said.
Police are meeting with an investigator from the U.S. Postal Service to determined what charges will be filed. The women, who are in their 20s or 30s, could face both federal and local charges.
Police warned residents to collect their mail before it gets snatched and to not send cash through the mail. In some rural areas, Westrick said residents raise red flags on their mailboxes to alert the postal service of outgoing mail.
“When you put the flag up, it shows there is mail in there and then it’s an easy target,” he said.
But Michael Olsavsky, acting postmaster in Johnstown, also noted that those flags are the only way for carriers to know that there is mail to be collected.
To prevent the theft of cash, Olsavsky recommends sending a postal money order – which he said is guaranteed and can be traced – or sending a personal check.
Click here to subscribe to The Tribune-Democrat print edition.
Click here to subscribe to The Tribune-Democrat e-edition.
Beryl Makes Landfall on Florida Coast
Service Dogs Help Wash. Soldiers Battling PTSD
Raw Video: Heckler Bursts in on Blair Testimony
Japan Farmers Plant, Seek Radiation-free Rice
UN Blames Syrian Forces for Shelling Houla
Raw Video: Gay Protest Blocked in Moscow
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
