HILO — A thief or thieves made off with cluster mailbox units in a remote area of lower Puna between Monday night and Tuesday morning, according to police.
Sgt. Bryan Tina of Puna Patrol Division said Tuesday afternoon the thefts occurred on Government Beach Road between Hawaiian Beaches and the Kapoho Four Corners intersection in the area between the papaya farms and the Kapoho Lighthouse.
Tina said three mailbox clusters were taken.
“Each cluster has 16 individual mailboxes, so that’s 48 individual mailboxes,” Tina said. He added, “They’re bolted down, so apparently they unscrewed the bolts, and then just removed the whole unit.”
Tina said responding officers made checks with neighbors and passers-by but were unable to collect any initial leads.
According to Tina, a mail carrier made the discovery while delivering the mail and reported the missing mailbox clusters.
The value of the stolen property is undetermined since the contents of the mailboxes are unknown, but an online check showed 16-door cluster mailbox units sell for more than $1,000 each, which makes the crime a Class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison under state laws.
Federal laws make theft of the mail itself punishable by up to five years, as well.
Police ask anyone with any information about these thefts to call the department’s nonemergency line at 935-3311.
Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call the islandwide Crime Stoppers number at 961-8300 and might be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000. Crime Stoppers is a volunteer program run by ordinary citizens who want to keep their community safe.
Crime Stoppers doesn’t record calls or subscribe to caller ID. All Crime Stoppers information is kept confidential.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.