A FedEx driver allegedly dumped hundreds of packages in a wooded area in Alabama, according to the Blount County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO).
Heaps of packages were discovered in a wooded ravine near the small town of Hayden on November 24, according to WATN.
“Investigators have determined that the driver dumped at least six times making FedEx a victim of six different Theft of Property cases,” Blount County Sheriff Mark Moon wrote in a November 30 Facebook post from the sheriff’s office account.
“As of right now we are looking at around 450 individual victims, some in Blount County some not, that investigators are attempting to work their cases,” the sheriff continued.
He added that the case will not close quickly and asked for the public’s patience as “investigators work through this case.”
In a November 29 update, Moon wrote that his office had communicated with “FedEx security personnel and the driver has been identified and questioned.”
The driver’s identity has not been released, though FedEx provided NPR with a statement indicating the suspected individual no longer provides services for FedEx Ground.
In the statement, FedEx added:
We regret the inconvenience this situation has caused and appreciate our customers’ understanding throughout the package recovery process. Where possible, recovered packages are being delivered to the intended recipients. In the event of a damaged shipment, we will make every effort to work with the affected shippers to reach a resolution.
The BCSO first shared its discovery of the packages in a November 24 Facebook post. “I currently have a deputy on a location where it appears 300-400 boxes of assorted sizes have been thrown off a ravine,” the BCSO wrote. The same day, FedEx sent multiple trucks, drivers, and an area manager to the location.
The following morning, on Thanksgiving, the makeshift crew of drivers worked to remove the packages from the woods.