DINWIDDIE COUNTY, Va. β A Dinwiddie County sheriff's deputy saved Christmas for many Virginia families after discovering abandoned packages that were supposed to be delivered to their doors.
Dinwiddie County Sheriff's Sgt. Terrell Coles was working near the Town of McKinney last week when he noticed something strange on the side of the road.
Upon closer inspection, he found abandoned packages delivered short of their final destination near a cluster of mailboxes.
"Normally speaking, FedEx will deliver packages and deliver them to your doorstep," the 13-year Dinwiddie sheriff's veteran said. "[The numbers on the mailboxes] were not consistent with the numbers on the packages."
Coles called FedEx and talked with a manager who told him he would send someone to meet him and retrieve those packages.
But that didn't happen, Coles said.
So after three days of waiting with the packages secure in the back of his patrol car, Coles put his Santa Claus hat on and decided to deliver some packages.
Olivia Davis was one of the first to get a knock on her door.
"I actually had given up on the package," Davis said.
As word spread online about the discovered packages, others were finding even more packages on the side of the road.
Roy Maitland spotted four big boxes on his way in to work.
"I stopped and checked them and they were full boxes," Maitland said. "I picked them up and took them back to the Dollar Store, where they belonged."
Maitland said those boxes were about a football field away from the Dollar General parking lot.
Coles said he decided to play Santa to help his community.
"I thought it was really kind of him to personally come and drop it off," Davis said.
Coles said other Dinwiddie County sheriff's deputies are keeping an eye out for packages left on the side of the road.
FedEx responded to CBS 6's request to comment with the following statement:
We sincerely apologize to our customers. The safe and secure transport of our customers' shipments is a top priority, and we are fully cooperating with authorities in their investigation.
The individuals involved are no longer providing service for our company. Customers with questions about their shipments can visit www.fedex.com.
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
π²: CONNECT WITH US
Blue Sky | Facebook | Instagram | X | Threads | TikTok | YouTube
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. To learn more about how we use AI in our newsroom, click here.
