Pawleys Island police, U.S. Postal Inspector investigate ‘pattern’ of mail theft

Police in Pawleys Island are searching for the suspect(s) behind multiple recent mail thefts.
Published: Mar. 22, 2023 at 11:59 AM EDT|Updated: Mar. 22, 2023 at 4:45 PM EDT

PAWLEYS ISLAND, S.C. (WMBF) - Police in Pawleys Island are searching for the suspect(s) behind multiple recent mail thefts.

According to PIPD, there has been a pattern of U.S. Mail theft in the area.

Officers recovered “another large bag of mail apparently stolen from residential mailboxes and discarded after looking for credit cards, etc.”

Pawleys Island Police Chief Mike Fanning said on Feb 28, officers received a call about a bag of mail “with cancellations & apparently delivered” found under a beach house on Myrtle Ave. by a maintenance company.

“We contacted the US Postal Inspectors in Charleston,” said Fanning. “There had been a blue mail drop-off box broken into at the Pawleys Island Post Office that week, as well. However, that is outside of our jurisdiction. The Postal Inspectors picked up that mail for the investigation.”

Officers were notified by another maintenance company on March 21, that another bag of mail was found under a house a couple of doors down from the first location.

“The Postal Inspectors were notified again and we are making arrangements to have it transferred to them,” Fanning said. “The mail is apparently from all along the Grand Strand, from Calabash to Pawleys Island.”

The U.S. Postal Inspector will disseminate the mail.

PIPD recommends retrieving your mail as soon as possible after it is delivered, which is normally between 11 a.m. and 1 pm.

Pawleys Island police officers are working with the U.S. Postal Inspector and other law enforcement agencies in the investigation.

Please be on the lookout for any suspicious activity.