ST. ANN, Mo. – A bride-to-be isn’t letting anyone rain on her big day, even after thieves stole her wedding invitations from the post office.
“The wedding is in August. It’s last-minute stuff and one of the last things was to send the invitations out,” Ashley Boiles said.
Boiles said her big day hit a snag after she dropped off wedding invites in the big blue box at the St. Ann Post Office off St. Charles Rock Road.
“It was like a week later, and they still weren’t delivered, even to anyone locally,” Boiles said. “The mailboxes had been broken into.”
The drop boxes are still taped up and not in use as of Thursday.
Boiles said she’s out hundreds of dollars.
“The invitations were about $275 and then I had another insert in there that was another $25, so about $300,” she said.
Boiles said the break-in happened hours after she dropped everything off. She filed a report online but said the post office is unable to reimburse her for the money she’s lost.
“You hear about all these blue boxes being broken into, but I didn’t think that one on the post office property, behind St. Ann’s police station, would be broken into,” she said.
Sandra Bogan is trying to send mail, too.
“I’ll just go inside,” she Bogan said.
She can’t believe someone could be so brazen.
“What is the world coming to nowadays? If they’re desperate to rob a post office box,” Bogan said.
Back at wedding planning central, Boiles doesn’t understand why someone is willing to risk so much.
“I understand they’re trying to go after people’s money and checks but it’s not worth it. It’s a federal crime,” Boiles said.
The bride-to-be is right.
Anyone convicted of stealing mail faces up to five years in prison and/or a fine of up to $250,000.
“You’re not just taking money from people, you’re also ruining things for others that has nothing to do with the checks they’re trying to get,” Boiles said.
In 2022, postal onspectors said they arrested 4,291 people and secured 3,947 convictions connected to postal crimes, primarily those involving mail theft, mail fraud, and prohibited mailings.
As for Boiles’ wedding invites, she has a message for the thieves.
“It would be nice if they would just put them back in the mail,” Boiles said. “I wonder if they think they’re going to get a free meal or something – no way.”