HOUSTON – Mail theft is nothing new in Houston, but discarded letters recently found along a west Harris County trail show just how bold thieves have become.
Melinda Field said she first noticed piles of discarded mail on June 23 while running in the Addicks area.
“It started June 23rd. I first noticed I was running on the trail a lot and I found discarded mail,” Field said. “It’s been about four times I’ve come out here and found mail and just thrown everywhere.”
She went for a walk on the trail with KPRC 2’s Gage Goulding on Wednesday. While chatting for this story, Field pointed out freshly dumped mail scattered off the beaten path.
“This is planned. Somebody’s doing this,” she said.
Important Documents Tossed Aside
Among the piles were toll road bills, medical statements and credit card documents.
Gage Goulding: “This is from the Fort Bend County Toll Road Authority. This is somebody’s bill for driving on the toll road.”
Melinda Field: “Exactly. This is a medical bill right here.”
One envelope contained a credit card agreement that appeared to be missing its contents.
Some of the letters included important personal information such as financial records and medical bills. Residents listed on the stolen mail were not home when KPRC 2’s Gage Goulding went to see if they even knew their mail was sitting along a trail.
“It needs to be investigated,” she said.
Investigators Working Multiple Cases
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service confirmed it is investigating cases like this across the Houston area.
According to a review of media releases in 2025, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service has made at least 10 arrests this year, with more open cases still pending.
Some of the thefts are tied to gangs and organized criminal networks.
If caught and convicted, suspects could face anywhere from six months to up to 20 years in prison.
Houston Flagged In Federal Audit
A recent audit by the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General highlighted how widespread the problem has become in Houston.
Between March and August 2024, investigators found more than 7,000 customer inquiries directly related to tampered mailboxes, stolen mail or missing packages.
In that same period, the Postal Inspection Service received about 2,000 formal mail theft complaints in Houston.
Inspectors were working 51 active mail theft cases and 27 cases of postal carrier robberies.
The audit also flagged problems with arrow keys, the universal keys used by carriers to open mailboxes.
At one Houston post office, nearly a quarter of the keys were either missing or unaccounted for.
Security upgrades like high-security collection boxes and electronic locks were also delayed, leaving vulnerabilities in place.
For residents like Field, finding mail dumped in ditches and trails isn’t just an inconvenience; it’s a threat to personal security.
Federal inspectors say they’re working to stop the trend, but with thousands of complaints logged each year, mail theft continues to impact neighborhoods across Houston.