CLINTON, Wash. — It happened during the overnight hours of July 30.
Thieves walked into the lobby of the Clinton post office and pried a steel and wood panel off the wall, getting access to all of the letters and packages inside.
The lobby is routinely left unlocked so people can check their post office boxes at their leisure. This week, postal workers have been delivering the bad news to customers as they came to collect their mail.
A letter on the door explained that their letters may be gone for good.
"You need to check your tracking numbers and see if you're missing anything," one postal worker told a customer.
Steve Matthews showed up wondering about the status of his online purchases.
"We tracked what we had and there were a few small things missing, so we contacted Amazon," he said.
The thieves spray painted surveillance cameras, pulled every piece of mail from P.O. boxes and stole as many packages as they could.
"This is a condition of our society, right now," said customer Laura Mullen. "People are just kind of out of control."
Among the many items believed to have been taken are medications and ballots for next week's elections.
"People that dropped one in, they have to figure out if their ballot in that bunch," said Matthews.
Island County Auditor Sheilah Crider said the only ballots potentially affected are those leaving the Clinton post office. Incoming mail was not impacted. She added it is always better to drop your vote in an actual drop box.
Since delivery on south Whidbey Island is handled by the post office in Langley, mail delivery to homes has not been impacted.
Some of the stolen mail has been recovered, but computers and possibly mailbox keys are still missing.
"We're hoping the feds check it out and catch somebody because it's been a problem on the island for quite a while," said customer Ed Field.
In a statement to KING 5, the US Postal Inspection Service said, "USPIS is working to confirm the number of items taken and will be working to contact any victims who may have been affected."
They encouraged anyone who may have information regarding the incident to call 877-876-2455. The line is open 24 hours.
"Everyone needs to take this seriously and work together as a community to provide ourselves with better defenses," said Laura Mullen, "because this is not going away."
Investigators told KING 5 they are following up on several leads and the post office hopes to be fully open by Monday, Aug. 5.
What if your ballot is missing?
Island County officials said If you haven't received your ballot you can pick one up at any county elections office, or online at www.votewa.gov.
Ballots can be printed out at local libraries and senior centers and mailed in a standard envelope after signing an affidavit, available on line.
Voters can also track the status of their ballots by going to the aforementioned site.
If you think your ballot is missing you can get a new one at any county elections office or online. If elections officials receive multiple ballots, the first one secured will be the one counted.
Ballots are due by 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 6.