Residents of southwest Iowa are being warned of a recent increase in mail thefts across the region.
Adair County Sheriff Brad Newton says his office has received about 30 reports of theft from mailboxes since Thursday, stretching from Greenfield to Stuart.
Deputies say people are finding piles of mail in the middle of the street. Investigators believe the thief or thieves are taking all the contents from mailboxes, rifling through them for the items they want, then dumping the rest. Sheriff Newton believes the thief or thieves are looking for Christmas cards with cash in them.
He says the best way to thwart the thieves is to beat them to your mailbox. Residents should retrieve their mail as soon as it's delivered, if possible.
