PORTLAND, Ore. — Police are searching for a man who allegedly robbed a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier and threatened her in a Northeast Portland neighborhood on March 8.
Officers responded to a reported robbery near the area of Northeast Church Street and Jessup Street just after 1 p.m. The USPS mail carrier told the officer that a man had walked up to her and demanded the keys to mailboxes, according to the Portland Police Bureau.
The mail carrier told police that the man then "threatened her with violence" unless she gave him several keys, so she did. Then she said that the man demanded the keys to her vehicle.
The mail carrier, who police have not identified, refused to hand over her car keys and the suspect left the area with some items, PPB said.
“The letter carrier is physically okay, but is still struggling with some of the mental health aspects of having that violent interaction,” said Adam Sale, who leads the team of federal postal inspectors for the state of Oregon. "We have seen an uptick in the last 12 to 15 months. We have had three in total. We also had a letter carrier shot in December. So there has been an uptick here, but I can't attribute it to any one item. Nationally I think we’re seeing a trend in that direction as well.”
According to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the suspect was wearing a tan track suit with a hood, white tennis shoes and a yellow disposable face mask. As of March 14, police had not arrested the suspect.
“I am astonished that it happened because we don’t get crime in this area,” said Nicholas Johnson, who lives in the neighborhood. "This area is very safe. (As) I said, there is zero crime around here. In 1972, this house was broken into, and there haven't been any robberies since.”
Postal inspectors are offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information that helps police arrest and convict the suspect.
“Feeling safe at work is extremely important to us," said Sale. "And so that’s why we put the reward out and offer as much money as we do. These investigations are very important and we want to get them solved."
Anyone with information about the robbery is asked to contact them at 1-877-876-2455 (when prompted, say "law enforcement") and reference case number 3988904. Postal inspectors said all information will be kept confidential.
The incident marked at least the second time a USPS mail carrier has been robbed in recent months in Northeast Portland. In September 2022, a man robbed a mail carrier at gunpoint near the intersection of Northeast 10th Avenue and Hancock Street. In that case, the man got away with the mail carrier's satchel, the scanner and postal keys. The mail carrier wasn't injured.