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I got a creepy, anyonymous letter in the mail...


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It's all about how the Lord will have vengeance upon me for making false accusations. It's very creepy and refers to my family's safety.

 

I have thought and thought and I honestly cannot think of anything I could have done to prompt this. Plus, it is very anonymous - it doesn't refer to me by name, it doesn't talk about any specifics at all, doesn't name my children, or our church or anything personal.

 

The envelope had our initials and last name and our address without postal code - just as it all appears in the phone book. It was written in ink and someone had spent a loong time writing it. The letters were traced over and over again and had some fancy flourishes.

 

The letter was printed on a computer and did not have any distinguishing features at all.

 

The postmark is from our city.

 

I'm thinking this is some anonymous prank - surely if someone knew who we were there would have been some personal reference in the letter? Or at the very least our first names would have been used somewhere?

 

But even if it's anonymous it still scares me because it means that some crazy person sat there tracing my address over and over again before sending me a psycho letter.

 

I showed my pastor the letter yesterday, thinking that maybe others in our congregation had received it, but I'm the only one. I was thinking I would take it to the police today just to get it on record.

 

Any other suggestions? It makes being home alone a little scary.

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I would contact the police.

 

I would also have long talks with the dc about safety--particularly as it relates to people they already know. I don't wish to scare you, but I would be sure the dc understood that they can't, for example, get in a car with someone just because they know them from church.

 

Good idea. I talked with my oldest, but I didn't want to worry the boys. Particularly my ten year old as he already has some issues with worrying excessively about things.

 

 

It's hard because I'm trying not to go overboard here - I don't want anyone to be terrified. But, it's hard and every horror film I've ever seen is now giving me all kinds of scary ideas. I was at Wal-Mart last night and couldn't find my car - it was dark and snowing and I kept thinking I was being watched. If this was some prank to get a reaction out of me it's definitely working.

Edited by Sarah CB
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You need to take it to the police and alert the postmaster. Making threats through the mail is a federal offense. Sicko prank or not, someone needs the fear of the law real quick before their minds take on more devious thoughts or actions.

 

Faith

 

:iagree: Make a copy of it to keep for your records/take a copy to the postmaster, and take the original into the police. :grouphug: That is scary!

 

One thing, was it addressed to you- could it be that your teen upset someone-and this is a stupid teenager doing it?

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That is horrid. I'm sorry you are going through that- how unnecessary! I would have the talk with the kids to freshen up safety tips and have a visit with the police as people have mentioned.

 

I hope there's some form of closure for you...maybe this has been sent to a few people and it can be traced... :grouphug:

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I'm very new here still, but wanted to say that the police can definitely send this letter off to the forensics lab.

 

If you can, stop handling it (a little late, I know) and put it into a gallon ziplock bag.

 

You don't have to physically take it the police station. Just call the non-emergency number, tell them you have received a suspicious letter containing threats, and they will send a police officer to your home.

 

The officer will file a report, and take the letter to send to the lab, if s/he thinks there is a chance of finding info. You can ask the officer to make sure that the police will be driving past now and then to keep an eye on your house.

 

And - added bonus - if anyone *is* watching you, they will see that you have contacted the police.

 

 

 

Oh... and you might consider calling the post office as well. They would take this seriously, and your carrier may be able to stay on the look out for more suspicious letters. Could be worth a shot.

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I agree with everyone else. Get the police involved. Now. And don't act as though it's probably a prank -- let the police know you are scared and that you are taking this very seriously. Don't let them minimize it, and don't act apologetic for calling them. If you act like it's probably not a big deal, someone is playing a joke, etc., the police won't take it seriously, either.

 

And it is serious. The phrasing does not sound like a teenage prank to me. It sounds like someone is a wacko and is trying to terrify your family. Hopefully, it's nothing more than someone trying to scare you, but this isn't the sort of thing to take lightly.

 

I also agree with those who posted that you should notify your neighbors so they can help keep an eye on things and notify the police immediately if they see a strange car slowly cruising the area or parked on your street.

 

If you attend church, please show a copy of the letter to your pastor, and see if he or she has any idea of who may have targeted you, or if anyone else from church has received a similar threat.

 

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

 

I would be really scared. Please be watchful when you're away from home, and be constantly aware of your surroundings, and mindful of anyone who seems to be paying too much attention to you or your dc. Also, keep an eye on your rearview mirror when you're driving to be sure no one is following you. Be ready to call the police at the slightest red flag. You will not be a nuisance to them; they'd rather protect you before there's a problem than hear about something when it's too late. They will understand why you're frightened; they have families, too.

 

I'm sorry to sound paranoid, and hopefully this will turn out to be nothing, but that letter is absolutely creepy.

 

Cat

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Please, please, take it seriously and alert the police, the post office and your neighbors. Someone took pains to give you the creeps. Unfortunately, there have been several horrible incidents of stalking crimes that turned very badly recently and I think some deranged evil people are getting ideas from these crimes and doing copy cat type of things. I have a master's in criminal justice, did all my coursework for a PhD in it too, and this really concerns me. Protect yourself and your family.

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Advice from dear friend who is retired police officer. Run, do not walk to your nearest state police post or sheriff's office. Do not go to your city police. This is a federal offense because it came through the mail and they do not have jurisdiction. You don't want it lost in the paperwork shuffle. The state police post and sheriff's office are better equipped to coordinate with the postmaster general and a federal agent if one is assigned.

 

Stop handling it, as per advice above. But, don't call dispatch. For something like this, dispatch might give it a low priority and it could take 24 hours for someone to get to your house. Go in person. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Plus, if they've received reports of suspicious letters from any others, they will want to plot this and see if there is a pattern.

 

If you do not own a guard dog, you can still make a potential intruder believe you have one. Get a mondo huge ceramic dog bowl and paint a name like "killer, brutus, biter, t-rex," etc. on the side. Place beware of dog signs on the property and let the police know you are doing this so that they will be aware that it is safe for them to come on the property without preparing for a dog attack. Place the very largest dog collar possible (something that looks like it's meant to restrain a wooly mammoth) on the porch next to the dog bowl but roll it in dirt and mud first so it looks good and used.

 

Get a chain, tow truck type mega chain, put it around a tree, a beam of the front porch, a fence post...something serious and then let it lay loosely stretched out in the yard so it looks like you've been restraining a gorilla.

 

If you don't have a security alarm system, you can still purchase alarm signs and place them in all of the windows. Put "no tresspassing, we shoot to kill" signs on the trees (tell your closest, trusted neighbors and the police, but no one else).

 

He says all of these things have been proven, in interviews with felons, to be deterents to prowlers and would be invaders.

 

He also said to keep a ball bat handy in case you hear someone attempting to come through a window or door. He is very, very worried about the wording of the letter...something about psychological profiling and such.

 

Faith

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Excellent suggestions, Faith!

 

I hadn't thought of the local police vs state police issue. I think that, in that case, I would notify both, because even if the state police are the ones who would have jurisdiction in the case to try to locate the person who sent the letter, the local police are probably the ones who patrol the area, and who would be dispatched in the event of an emergency. If they know that a threat has been made, they might be quicker to respond and more likely to do extra patrols of the neighborhood.

 

In this case, the more police involved, the better. And if there's an FBI office in your area, you might want to give them a call and ask if they have any info about similar cases.

 

Maybe it sounds a little paranoid to you, but in this case, someone has actually informed you that they are out to get you, so a bit of paranoia is warranted.

 

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

 

Cat

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So, so sorry you and your family are having to go through this. It is definitely scary. Very much agree with the above posts and getting the state police involved. If at all possible I would try not to go out alone at night. Also, leave any outside lights you may have on at night. Be safe and please keep us updated.

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I just realized that Sarah is in Canada so maybe some Canadians can tell us who she should notify? I do think this would be against the law over there the same as over here.

 

Just do take it seriously and notify any and all authorities who have jurisdiction. I also fully agree with the suggestions Faithmanor said that the retired police officer stated. You do need to appear threatening and dogs and guns or appearances of such can definitely help.

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I just realized that Sarah is in Canada so maybe some Canadians can tell us who she should notify? I do think this would be against the law over there the same as over here.

 

Just do take it seriously and notify any and all authorities who have jurisdiction. I also fully agree with the suggestions Faithmanor said that the retired police officer stated. You do need to appear threatening and dogs and guns or appearances of such can definitely help.

 

Nice catch, Chris -- I hadn't noticed that Sarah lives in BC!

 

I'm pretty sure the gun idea won't work there, as I think Canada has very strict firearms laws. (I don't know the details, but I'm sure I have read about it here on gun-related threads.)

 

Cat

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I would DEFINITELY call the police. It looks like (just from Googling Canadian law) that if you get another letter it would be criminal harassment at least, and the police would need to know about this letter first--and hopefully they can get fingerprints or something and prevent there even being another letter/contact in any way! :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug: Oh, and threatening emails are criminal in Canada too under multiple different statutes, so I'm sure a threatening letter also is; I just haven't found that law yet.

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I just want to add that a friend's brother (in his 30's) took a voice message tape to the police. It had a full-out threat on it.

 

The police weren't helpful and the worst happen.

 

The bad guy is now in prison.

 

I don't say this to scare you -- really I don't -- I'm just saying that you should take the letter to the police, but know that that won't actually do anything.

 

I LOVE the get-a-huge-dog and make a best friend out of him/her. In other words, don't leave the dog in the yard all day. Keep the dog in the house and he/she will automatically become very protective of you and the kids. (I rescued a German shepherd once and, while she never hurt anybody, I never doubted that I was safe w/ her in the house.)

 

Plus the dog will hear things that you can't hear.

 

I'd also get an alarm and huge flood lights all around the house.

 

All this said, I have a funny sixth sense that this letter is "just" a mean prank that's been sent to others.

 

I have a media background: you might want to take it to your local paper, talk to a reporter and see if others have been receiving letters like this. It might be happening around the holidays to unnerve people by a Grinch type of person.

 

It was a different situation but our local paper did a story on something that seemed like it happened to one family, but it turned out it had happened to dozens of families!

 

Take good care,

 

Alley

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I took the letter to the police. They photocopied it and the envelope and started a file. The officer was very kind and let me know that I could call at any time and they could be at my house within minutes.

 

I showed my Pastor, just in case there were other members of our congregation who had received something like this.

 

I have some friends praying for us.

 

We have a good security system and I've been putting it on earlier than I used to at night. I have given the kids strict orders about answering the door. We had a big "stranger" discussion. We now have a code word for the freak time where I might have to get someone else to pick them up from somewhere. I have a big dog (130 lbs) and a small dog who likes to bark.

 

I am trying to put it out of my head, but the whole bit about vengeance striking when I least expect it is still freaking me out on a regular basis. I wish the postmark had been from somewhere far away instead of from my city - the crazy person being within close driving distance is not a calming thought.

 

Every time I check the mail I'm scared there will be another letter.

 

I thought stuff like this only happened in movies I'm too scared to watch.

 

I'm still hoping that the crazy person sent out 100 of these and that I'm not really on his or her radar (and when I think that I try really hard not to think about how much time it would have taken someone to write the envelope the way it was written).

 

Thanks for thinking of me and for all of the good advice.

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I took the letter to the police. They photocopied it and the envelope and started a file. The officer was very kind and let me know that I could call at any time and they could be at my house within minutes.

 

I showed my Pastor, just in case there were other members of our congregation who had received something like this.

 

I have some friends praying for us.

 

We have a good security system and I've been putting it on earlier than I used to at night. I have given the kids strict orders about answering the door. We had a big "stranger" discussion. We now have a code word for the freak time where I might have to get someone else to pick them up from somewhere. I have a big dog (130 lbs) and a small dog who likes to bark.

 

I am trying to put it out of my head, but the whole bit about vengeance striking when I least expect it is still freaking me out on a regular basis. I wish the postmark had been from somewhere far away instead of from my city - the crazy person being within close driving distance is not a calming thought.

 

Every time I check the mail I'm scared there will be another letter.

 

I thought stuff like this only happened in movies I'm too scared to watch.

 

I'm still hoping that the crazy person sent out 100 of these and that I'm not really on his or her radar (and when I think that I try really hard not to think about how much time it would have taken someone to write the envelope the way it was written).

 

Thanks for thinking of me and for all of the good advice.

 

:grouphug:

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:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

 

You're doing all the right things to protect your family, but I know it probably doesn't help a single bit whenever you hear a strange noise or a car passes your house late at night.

 

I wish this wasn't happening to you. It shouldn't happen to anyone.

 

Cat

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