Residents fed up with stolen mail tossed in East Atlanta streets

ATLANTA (FOX 5 Atlanta) - East Atlanta residents are fed up with finding their mailboxes emptied or torn envelopes and packages tossed on the ground several blocks away.

One resident, who asked us not to use his name, said there's been a recent uptick in mail theft in his neighborhood.

"It's happening every night, so there's just no telling how many victims there are," he said.

FOX 5's Emilie Ikeda spoke to residents on Haas, Patterson and Oak Grove Avenues who all shared similar stories of missing mail or opened envelopes littering the street.

"Last week we were out of town, and we got an email from someone that had found our mail just strewn in the street," said Sean Bastarache.

One homeowner's security camera showed someone walking down the street, looking through his mailbox, and then moving on. The man did not find anything in the video captured Monday morning, but the homeowner said that hasn't always been the case.

"Since we got back from vacation and noticed it's been stolen, we made extra special effort to make sure we get our mail out every day," the homeowner, who did not reveal his name, said.

Residents call the trend an eyesore and an invasion of privacy.

"I don't like it because I don't like people going in my personal property," said Marcus Blash, another resident.

A postal worker acknowledged the recent trend, telling FOX 5 it's frustrating to find mail she just delivered strewn on the ground across the neighborhood.

FOX 5 confirmed the U.S. Postal Inspection Service has received several formal complaints regarding mail theft in the area.