RICHMOND, Va. — A Richmond woman made a troubling discovery outside her Museum District apartment when she found stacks of mail meant for her neighbors discarded in a recycling bin.
Ashley Botkin found herself in an unexpected role as a neighborhood mail carrier after discovering the abandoned mail.
"There were stacks of mail in a recycling box that's outside of our apartment building, and they weren't for past people that lived here. They were for people, you know, blocks surrounding us," Botkin said.
The discarded mail contained important personal documents, not junk mail.
"We saw pieces of bills or financial statements or, you know, updates from doctors offices, things like that, stuff that's happened to us or that we've heard from other people not getting their checks," Botkin said.
Botkin took it upon herself to hand-deliver some of the mail to its rightful recipients but was unsure about the proper protocol.
"It's just been kind of confusing about what are we actually supposed to do with the mail now that we have it," Botkin said.
The discovery left her wondering if this was more than just an accident.
"Like, oh, this feels this was a little intentional," Botkin said.
Despite her concerns, Botkin expressed empathy for postal workers who may be under significant pressure.
"I feel bad that some postal worker felt like they had to come to this to meet their quota for the day or get everything delivered where maybe it wasn't sorted correctly," Botkin said.
The United States Postal Service is currently investigating the incident. A spokesperson stated that the security and sanctity of the mail are top priorities for the Postal Service, but they don't have answers at this time.
Botkin believes Richmond residents deserve more transparency from their local post office.
"Love to see some more transparency from the Richmond post office. People are waiting for really important mail," Botkin said.
She encourages neighbors to be vigilant about their mail while also understanding the challenges postal workers face.
"Check your mail. If something isn't coming, look into it, but also just pay attention to like, 'What's going on, where is the funding coming from?' And also give a little empathy to postal workers as well, because it's very easy to get mad and say, 'How could they do this? It's a federal crime, etcetera, but at the same time, they are people who have very difficult jobs," Botkin said.
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