A woman has been charged with stealing mail from more than 30 people in west Salem, according to Polk County court records.
A Polk County grand jury on April 30 indicted Lauren D. Dudenhoeffer, 32, of Salem, on charges of aggravated first-degree theft, first-degree forgery and 33 counts of mail theft.
The charges allege that the stolen mail included checks totaling over $10,000 from 11 people and businesses. The mail was stolen on Nov. 20, 2023, according to the indictment.
A witness at the time reported to the Salem Police Department that he saw Dudenhoeffer taking mail from multiple mailboxes near Orchard Heights Park.
Dudenhoeffer then told police that she had been stealing mail from mailboxes in west Salem for three days and that another person had paid her $200 to do so, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Police searched her backpack and found at least four checks intended, including two for local businesses totaling $1,750 which had addresses scratched off.
Dudenhoeffer was charged at the time with two counts of mail theft, and forgery in the first and second degrees. Those charges were dismissed on May 3 after she was indicted on the more recent charges.
Dudenhoeffer was arrested and booked into Polk County Jail, where she remained as of Wednesday.
Salem police recently asked residents who have been victims of mail theft to report to police as well as the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. “Proactive measures to prevent mail theft are also encouraged through the use of notifications for standard mail and package delivery services,” Salem police said in a statement last month.
The police agency recently created a webpage people can use to retrieve their personal documents after two other mail theft cases resulted in Salem police recovering an enormous amount of stolen mail. Two men were recently charged with mail theft, and a third man was charged with possessing fake mailbox keys.
Salem residents who believe their mail may have been stolen can check if their names are on the list of victims police have identified. Those whose names are listed can complete a form to start the process of getting their documents back.
This story was updated to reflect that Dudenhoeffer is accused of stealing checks from 11 people and businesses, not 12. Salem Reporter apologizes for the error.
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Contact reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian: [email protected] or 503-929-3053.
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Ardeshir Tabrizian has covered criminal justice and housing for Salem Reporter since September 2021. As an Oregon native, his award-winning watchdog journalism has traversed the state. He has done reporting for The Oregonian, Eugene Weekly and Malheur Enterprise.
