VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – For two very determined sisters in Virginia Beach, Tuesday was the moment they’d been anticipating.
It all began over the weekend when Jacqueline Marshall was leaving her house. She noticed a single piece of paper – an envelope – on the front lawn.
“That’s where it was, lying right there,” Marshall said pointing to her yard. “It was not only a letter - it was an IRS check.”
Certainly, this was no junk mail.
The sisters quickly found out they weren’t the only ones who found someone else’s mail. Their boss’ friend posted on Facebook Monday night about getting a stranger’s tax refund from a few miles away delivered to her mailbox.
“The recipient lived about three miles from her and delivered the check to her, and she was ecstatic,” said Patricia Brooks, Marshall’s sister.
Brooks suggested they too should hand-deliver the check to the owner.
“We're healthcare workers and we care about people, and that's the way we were raised,” Brooks said. “I just think if it were my check and someone delivered it to me, I would be so relieved.”
Their plan was put into motion Tuesday, driving five miles in the pouring rain. The sisters rang the owner’s doorbell.
“How are you? Are you Michael?” Marshall said. “I found this in my front yard. My sister and I decided to personally deliver it to you. You might be waiting for it.”
Michael Borecky, the check’s rightful owner, was shocked but grateful.
“Yeah, definitely; looks like one of those important ones,” he laughed.
This money, Borecky said, will help his family.
“My wife just died about two years ago and now the son moved back in… it helps,” he said. “We've been… it definitely is not something you want to lose and waiting on because every… you just don't see this every day. It's fantastic. Thank you.”
The sisters were thankful, too, proving no small deed goes unnoticed.
“When you just do good things for people, it just comes back and makes you feel good,” said Brooks.
According to Postal Inspector Michael Romano, the Postal Inspection Service has not recently received any complaints about other instances of delivery mishaps. He added mail found outside of the mailbox could possibly be a mail tampering issue.
If customers believe their mail has been tampered with, they should report it to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service by calling 877-876-2455 or going online.
Customers can share general concerns, complaints or compliments by calling the toll-free number at 800-ASK-USPS (275-8777), visiting usps.com, or reaching out through Twitter @USPSHelp.
“The sooner they contact us, the better chance of resolving their service issue with greater expediency,” said Freda Sauter with corporate communications. “This way we will have a record of their call in case of a repeat instance. We want to help our customers' service needs in the most efficient process.”
