BOSTON (WHDH) - Boston police have launched an investigation after a mailbox was found charred along Boylston Street Monday.
Officers were called to the scene not far from where a ballot box was set on fire over the weekend, to assist the Boston Fire Investigation Unit with reports of a damaged mailbox around 5:45 p.m., according to a release issued by the department.
The officers were informed that a mail carrier discovered mail that had been damaged by fire inside of a United States Postal Service mailbox which was last emptied around 4 p.m. Saturday.
The United States Postal Service acknowledged the incident in a statement released later in the evening reading, “There was some charred mail discovered in one of our collection boxes this afternoon. That box is in close proximity to a Ballot Drop Box placed by the City of Boston where a fire had occurred over the weekend. The Postal Inspection Service is investigating the incident.
A U.S. postal inspector has taken custody of the mail that was damaged and the mailbox.
Officials have not said whether there were any mail-in ballots in the mailbox at the time.
Anyone who placed mail into the box between 1:30 p.m. Saturday and early Monday afternoon should contact the intended recipient this week to make sure it arrived, USPS said.
Anyone who believes their mail was damaged can contact the Postal Service’s Customer Service Center at 1-800-275-8777.
Anyone with information regarding the incident is urged to contact the Boston Fire Investigation Unit at 617-343-3324 and the Postal Inspectors at www.uspis.gov or 1-877-876-2455.
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