SIOUX CITY, IA — A customer driving through to drop off a letter at Sioux City’s Morningside Postal Station early Monday morning alerted U.S. Postal Service officials that smoke was coming out of the center blue mail collection box, located at 1802 Morningside Ave.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is working with local law enforcement and the Sioux City Fire Marshall on an investigation.

“If there’s a ‘silver lining’ to this apparent act of vandalism,” said Sioux City Postmaster Lori Slater-Trautwein, “it’s that most customers deposit mail in the first collection box and not the box in the center.”

Slater-Trautwein said that of the approximately 75 pieces of First-Class Mail that were damaged, an address or return address is legible on about 40 of the letters. Mail that has a legible address will be forwarded to the intended recipient, while those letters with only a return address will be returned to the sender with an explanation.

The Postal Inspection Service reminds those responsible for the collection box fire that destroying mail is a federal felony:

“Whoever willfully or maliciously injures, tears down or destroys any letter box or other receptacle intended or used for the receipt or delivery of mail on any mail route, or breaks open the same or willfully or maliciously injures, defaces or destroys any mail deposited therein, commits a federal felony violation of Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 1705, and is subject to being fined under this title, and/or imprisoned for up to three years.”

Anyone with information about this morning’s collection box fire is asked to call the U.S. Postal Inspection Hotline at 877/876-2455.

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