Lost in the mail

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Thousands of pieces of mail never reached their intended destination.

The U.S. Postal Service has a rich history of making sure the mail gets delivered even in the harshest conditions, but now it's trying to figure out why one rural mail carrier hoarded thousands of pieces of mail from her delivery route since December.

"We're talking about approximately 2,000 pieces of first-class mail and about 1,200 pieces of standard mail, which is bulk business mail," said postmaster Mark Lotocki.

The affected routes cover an area in Homosassa stretching east of U.S. 19, from Cardinal Street north to Green Acres Street.

Postal officials are at a loss so far to explain why the carrier in question stashed away so much first-class mail. Usually it's junk mail that sometimes doesn't get delivered by an employee.

It took calls from those affected to get the investigation started. The mail was found in the suspect's car.

"We just assume since all of our employees are very good employees that they're delivering everything they should be," said Lotocki.

Click on the image for a larger map of the affected area.

The recovered mail is under lock and key at the Homosassa Springs Post Office. Within the next couple of days the letters that weren't delivered will be sorted through and then delivered to the intended recipients with a letter inside explaining what happened and what the post office is going to do to help those people.

A postal service spokesman isn't sure if any charges will be brought against the postal worker, but officials say the mail carrier is no longer employed by the postal service.

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