Squamish RCMP this week arrested a local resident in connection with the alleged theft of mail from at least 38 Squamish residents.
The person RCMP Sgt. Murray Watt declined to provide the gender or other details was arrested on Sunday (Jan. 2) and released with no charges having been laid as police and Canada Post officials continue their investigation.
Police have recovered mail for 38 people, Watt said on Friday (Jan. 7). Authorities believe mail was stolen from "multiple locations" in Squamish, with most of the thefts having occurred in the Valleycliffe area, he said.
Theft of mail is an indictable offence under Section 356 of the Criminal Code, carrying a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail.
"It is a serious offence," Watt said.
Watt said that, because of the ongoing investigation, he couldn't say how the mail is thought to have been stolen.
"The target appears to be bank cards, credit cards, cheques," he said, adding that those affected are being advised to contact credit card companies and credit-rating agencies such as TransUnion and Equifax to advise them of the matter.
Valleycliffe residents receive their mail through a Canada Post kiosk outside the neighbourhood's small commercial complex.
Those receiving parcels pick them up at the Valleycliffe General Store under an agreement between the store and Canada Post, Lillian Salchner, a Canada Post spokesperson, said on Wednesday (Jan. 5).
The mail kiosk includes lock boxes and Canada Post employees place the mail in the boxes through an entrance that's not connected to the store or other nearby businesses, Valleycliffe General Store co-owner Matthew Carrat said on Wednesday.
Salchner said Canada Post sent out a notice to customers in the Valleycliffe area "about a month ago" advising them of the potential missing or stolen mail, urging customers to check their mail and to pick it up promptly after delivery.
"There was a break-in of community mailboxes about a month ago. That's why we sent that letter," Salchner said.
One Valleycliffe resident told The Chief on Tuesday (Jan. 4) that he has tried three times over the past year to lodge a complaint about missing mail and that no one has given him a complaint form or taken his phone number.
Salchner said staff at the store aren't Canada Post employees and that those who wish to report missing mail are urged to phone Canada Post's toll-free customer line at 1-800-267-1177.
The resident who spoke to The Chief said police told him on Tuesday that they had recovered two bags of his mail. The items included a credit card and bank statements, said the man, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared he was being targeted for identity theft.
"I've been after the post office for over a year saying that my mail was going missing and they wouldn't even take the time or take my phone number," the man said. "Now that the RCMP has contacted me, I don't feel like I was just crying wolf anymore."
The man said he cancelled the credit card when he began to suspect it wasn't going to reach him. He also contacted his bank and was told the statements had been sent and that there was nothing bank employees could do once that was done, he said.
The man said some pieces of mail he has placed in the red Canada Post boxes for delivery have not reached their destinations.
"I've mailed cheques and my clients have never gotten the cheques, which is a bad reflection on me," he said.
Watt said a Canada Post postal inspector has been assigned to assist police with the investigation of the alleged theft.
"There is also a dedicated Crown counsel [prosecutor] on reports of mail theft," he said. "There's a lot of work that has to be done with the investigation 38 statements have to be taken, after all."
