Burglary reported at Danville Post Office

DANVILLE - The Des Moines County Sheriff's Office is asking anyone with information on a burglary/vandalism that occurred at the Danville Post Office sometime between noon Saturday and Sunday evening to call the department with the information.

Chief Deputy Brett Grimshaw reported today that at 7:24 p.m. Sunday, the Des Moines County Communications Center received a report of a vandalism/burglary at the Post Office. Deputies responded and discovered about 30 post office boxes in a walk-in lobby of the post office had been broken into. He said mail was scattered throughout the area. Grimshaw said the postmaster had contacted the owners of the boxes that were accessed to try and determine if anything was stolen. The post office had last been open Saturday morning, closing at noon.

'It is an odd type of burglary,” Grimshaw said. 'The only thing I can think of is that it is Christmastime and someone thought they might get lucky and get an envelope with some money in it or something.”

He is not aware of any such incident happening in Des Moines County in the past.

Grimshaw reported there was no dollar amount for the damage, nor are there any suspects or people of interest at this time. Detectives have obtained several pieces of evidence from the scene and the surrounding areas. He said mail tampering is a federal crime and the U.S. Postal Inspector has been notified. Detectives are working with the postal Investigator and Postmaster to determine what mail was taken.

The incident still is under investigation. People with information call the sheriff's office at (319) 753-8212 or call Crime Stoppers anonymously at (319) 753-6835.