A sizable number of mailboxes outside Durango and Ignacio were damaged – some even knocked off their posts – in a string of vandalisms this month, and the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office believes they’re all connected.
The Sheriff’s Office is searching for the person or persons responsible for damaging at least 41 mailboxes since Aug. 5, causing an estimated $800 to $1,000 in damage.
“The damage is sporadic on different county roads,” Sheriff’s Office spokesman Chris Burke said. “… Some were on the ground, some look like they were hit with a blunt instrument.”
There were two separate incidents within an eight-hour span on Aug. 5 where multiple mailboxes on County Road 311 near Ignacio were damaged, and there were multiple mailboxes left damaged on Cottonwood Lane, northwest of Durango-La Plata County Airport.
Just after 8:45 a.m. on Aug. 6, a mailbox on County Road 307 near Durango was found damaged. Another mailbox on County Road 311 was also found damaged on Aug. 9.
Damaged mailboxes were also found on county roads 510 and 513 near Oxford, as well as Prospect Drive near the airport.
Within 10 minutes before the first set of Aug. 5 vandalisms began, 10 mailboxes on Twilight Lane west of Bayfield were found open. Burke said it is believed that those 10 mailboxes on Twilight Lane are also tied to the vandalisms, but the extent of that connection remains under investigation.
About four hours after the County Road 307 incident on Aug. 6, the Sheriff’s Office received a call about a man allegedly seen riding a bicycle near County Road 308 where damaged mailboxes were found. Burke said the Sheriff’s Office is still investigating whether that person may be tied to the damaged mailboxes, adding they still don’t have a description of that person or the bike at this point.
Burke said anyone who may see a suspicious person on foot, on a bike or in a car are asked to call the Sheriff’s Office’s central dispatch line at 385-2900.
mhollinshead@durangoherald.com
