Mail thefts on Signal Mountain probed

Aerial view of Signal Mountain

Mail has gone missing on Signal Mountain.

Several residents along Corral Road in the unincorporated area of the mountain have reported missing mail -- though only certain items have gone missing.

Randy Blackburn started noticing in late August the absence of certain items. The junk mail still came, but bank statements, credit card bills and the Verizon bill didn't.

"You would think they would come by, grab everything and just run," Blackburn said. "But they were very selective in what they took."

Blackburn says he notified the post office, where he was told it was a recurring problem in the area. He ordered a hold on his mail and set up a game camera outside near his mailbox.

"It's quite aggravating to have to monitor it on a day-to-day basis," he said. "But this is the world we live in today. Information theft is quite a moneymaker. It's frustrating."

Signal Mountain's postmaster wouldn't comment on the situation, but did say an investigation was underway. Hamilton County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Janice Atkinson said no official reports had been received by the sheriff's office. A spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service said such cases are handled by the federal Postal Inspection Service.

At first, it seemed like a fluke.

"I thought it was accidental. Sometimes I got other people's mail or they get mine," said Tom Mon, who also lives on the back side of Signal Mountain.

But after missing a quarterly bill for his security system, he realized something more was happening. So he halted his mail and decided to instead rent a post office box. Aside from that expense, he said he's worried about what might happen with the information in the mortgage or credit card statements he lost.

"Before that happened we had peace of mind," he said. "And when something like that happens you're wondering what's going to be next."

Neighbor Scottie Summerlin has a similar story. She realized some checks were missing, but thought her husband might have tossed them in the recycling bin. But then they missed a water bill and a trash bill.

"Some mail you just expect to get lost," she said. "But this just seems a little fishy."

Contact staff writer Kevin Hardy at khardy@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249.