Calgary’s Forest Lawn community mailbox stolen

Residents in Forest Lawn are left with questions and concerns after their community mailbox was stolen over the weekend.

Community members noticed the mailbox — located at 23 Avenue SE and 43 Street SE — was missing on Sunday.

Residents are worried it could happen again due to the way it was secured to the ground.

Longtime Forest Lawn resident, Debbie, who has lived there for almost two decades, says theft is an issue in the area, which is why she feels the mailbox should have been secured better.

“The whole mailbox had been removed from the four bolts that hold it into the ground,” Debbie said. “A wrench could take them off and I do believe we are going to see a whole lot more of this if Canada post does not come up with a better way of securing these boxes to the ground.”

Residents in the area are concerned that whoever stole the mailbox now has access to their personal information, as well as all of their mail and parcels.

On top of having their property stolen, they’ve been told they need to go to Sunridge Mall to pick up all of their mail until the mailbox can be replaced.

“Which, like I said, is three bus rides away for people that don’t drive, and it’s quite a distance to have to go,” Debbie said. “This week is welfare and pension week, there’s a lot of people that are relying on the mail that don’t get direct deposit.”

Debbie adds people in the community are concerned about what the thief or thieves could do with their mail.

“It scares us to death, because with fraud and identity theft out there, nobody can tell what was in their boxes,” Debbie said.

Canada Post tells CityNews they’re investigating the incident. Debbie says she’s not sure when it will be replaced, but her neighbour was told it could be as late as July 12.

“I was given June 30, he was given July 12, so nothing is consistent,” Debbie said.

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“I would just like Canada Post to put this as a priority for the sake of the people that are involved, because even myself on low income, the cost of gas running back and forth to the depot is going to be unbelievable if I have to do that for a period of time,” she said.