Farrar Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 (edited) *** Updated in Post 54 *** First up, let me say... this probably (okay, not probably, definitely) should not have been opened. Dh started it! Without thinking about the legal issues, I guess. But now that it was opened, I'm even more confused. We got a return to sender letter today. Our address was clearly written on it. But not our name. Or the name of anyone we know. The letter had clearly been through the wringer and had clearly been opened and resealed as well. Inside were the following pages: * three large, computer printed images of black shoes (two of the same shoe, one of a different pair) all sitting on the same desk * a large computer printed image of a work schedule (that didn't have the names of either the sender or addressee) seemingly from a grocery store produce department * a prison form letter that seems to be for censored or rejected mail with no information filled out other than the return to sender box checked and the name of the inmate given as the same one on the return address * Google directions - one map page and one step by step page - showing a public transit route from one spot to a police station in a nearby suburb * a handwritten (in bubble girly handwriting) letter, front and back on a piece of comp book paper, addressing the person the letter was addressed to and meandering through some very confusing sentences, with some very foul language, about a lot of sex and who's gay and who isn't and a lot of "just think about it" statements that are clearly meant to drive some mystery point home - nothing about the shoes, the police station in the suburbs, or the work schedule, or the prison for that matter What the heck!? Like... what the heck? We've lived here for more than 15 years. The letter is from about a month ago. The address on the letter seems to be the local jail, but the form says the sender is the inmate. And just... the shoes! The directions! The work schedule? What what what? Edited June 29, 2017 by Farrar 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 Well, that's pretty mysterious. Like something from a movie -- someone's hired an ex-convict to knock off someone's DH after work or something. Weird... 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UCF612 Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 Totally weird! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historically accurate Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 (edited) I don't even know what to say. That's weird & creepy! My mail mystery: The guy who lived here before, Emmett something-or-other, still gets a bill here every 3 months. I'm pretty sure that Emmett died, and that is why I live here. I've sent the bill back multiple times, but 10 years later they're still sending his bill here. It never says he's overdue though, which I find very strange. Edited January 11, 2017 by beckyjo 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ailaena Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 That is amazing! I am beyond intrigued. I wish I was a writer, I'd totally write a short story about this :p 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 11, 2017 Author Share Posted January 11, 2017 It was the sheer variety of things in that envelope that intrigued me most. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Peregrine Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 Your address was in the return address spot? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 11, 2017 Author Share Posted January 11, 2017 My DH used to be a prison guard. I suspect you might have received a coded message that wasn't meant for you. Meaning, an inmate was sending a message to a friend/fellow gang member, with coded instructions about some criminal activity they wanted the intended receiver (who isn't you,) to follow through with. If we received that, DH would have us deliver it to the police right away. But then... who was the letter supposed to get to? Like, the prison office almost certainly read the letter - I assume that's why it had been opened and had the form letter in it. But it's addressed to the prison and from a prisoner... who apparently put our address on it as the origin? I don't get who she thought it would get to. The letter doesn't read like it's coded. It reads like they have a history together, these two women. Like, a we shared some lovers and you wanted to sleep with my sister kind of history and I'm mad at you over something that isn't mentioned in the letter directly. Could the shoe images be coded? It's all very odd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 11, 2017 Author Share Posted January 11, 2017 Your address was in the return address spot? Yep. Very clearly. BUT... the prison form letter seems to suggest that the sender is the one who's in prison. She's down at the inmate on the form. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Peregrine Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 Yep. Very clearly. BUT... the prison form letter seems to suggest that the sender is the one who's in prison. She's down at the inmate on the form. So weird. No ideas but the combination of items is so puzzling. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 That's weird. Apparently prison officials found it inappropriate and rejected it, but I wonder if it was the prison or the post office who messed up who it went back to. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 (edited) That is weird. Maybe it's art. ETA those two statements seem to travel together in my brain, and I may have had too much coffee today and I'm posting without sufficient review. Edited January 11, 2017 by SusanC 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 11, 2017 Author Share Posted January 11, 2017 I wondered if the shoe images were maybe supposed to be evidence for a case or something. The way they were laid out on the desk and the only thing feature in the image made it seem that way. That or like they were going up on ebay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 But then... who was the letter supposed to get to? Like, the prison office almost certainly read the letter - I assume that's why it had been opened and had the form letter in it. But it's addressed to the prison and from a prisoner... who apparently put our address on it as the origin? I don't get who she thought it would get to. BUT... the prison form letter seems to suggest that the sender is the one who's in prison. She's down at the inmate on the form. I missed this and thought someone sent it to a prisoner. Maybe it was from someone in one prison to someone in another? Whatever the case, what's in the letter is really strange. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 11, 2017 Author Share Posted January 11, 2017 That's weird. Apparently prison officials found it inappropriate and rejected it, but I wonder if it was the prison or the post office who messed up who it went back to. Oh, the letter is definitely "inappropriate." There's a reference to the odors of someone's private tea room. I can't figure out why, if the sender was the inmate, they let it go "back" to the address she falsely wrote in the corner. Or why she wrote our address. I guess it's possible she made a mistake. Like maybe she reversed some numbers or something. Still odd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onceuponatime Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 (edited) Could it be a friend has arranged to send you or your dh a mystery as a unique gift? I heard about this kind of thing a few months ago. https://www.mysteriouspackage.com Edited January 11, 2017 by Onceuponatime 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 11, 2017 Author Share Posted January 11, 2017 (edited) That is weird. Maybe it's art. ETA those two statements seem to travel together in my brain, and I may have had too much coffee today and I'm posting without sufficient review. No (as in, that's not a weird idea at all). I like the idea that it's art. The kids said maybe it was a secret scavenger hunt (I didn't not let them see the letter though!). Edited January 11, 2017 by Farrar 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 11, 2017 Author Share Posted January 11, 2017 Could it be a friend has arranged to send you or your dh a mystery as a unique gift? I heard about this kind of thing a few months ago. https://www.mysteriouspackage.com Whoa. That's so cool! It's definitely not that... unless there's some Orange is the New Black themed version. But yeah, it's that sort of a thing, right? A mystery. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 11, 2017 Author Share Posted January 11, 2017 The bolded is specifically what made me think coded letter. It's likely that the intended receiver has some sort of key that makes specific words mean something else that spell out the code. Could be a drug deal, large or small, could be a hit on a snitch, could be something else. The stories DH has told me really are like Al Capone and the gangster movies come to life, just with modern gangs. I don't think that MS 13 or Latin Kings really operate that differently than the gangsters of the 20s. As for the addresses, honestly I don't know. Dh was the guard, not me. There are plenty of possibilities, like the sender of the letter is just some little stodge for the head gang leader in the prison and screwed up writing the letter. Could be that the addresses themselves are coded and a prison guard was in on it but screwed it up somehow. Could be other things that I can't think of right now. I have often said to DH that if prisoners would put their intelligence to LEGAL uses, the world would have a lot more millionaires and progress a lot farther. Criminals are VERY SMART...and VERY STUPID....at the same time. Ooh. I could believe that. So strange. Huh. Maybe I'll call and ask our police? But I must say I'm embarrassed now that we opened it. There wasn't a date on the outside and our first thought was that maybe it had been floating around for awhile and we were curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 Maybe it's the mom in me, but I just have the urge to say: wash your hands really, really good after handling it. LOL. 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 11, 2017 Author Share Posted January 11, 2017 Maybe it's the mom in me, but I just have the urge to say: wash your hands really, really good after handling it. LOL. :lol: :lol: Oh my. Now I feel like I will! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 11, 2017 Author Share Posted January 11, 2017 Dh has another theory. He thinks that when the prison opened up the mail, they accidentally put in some other random mail items, which is why it's such an odd hodgepodge of stuff. Or that they put in some and left out others - like that this is not the original contents of the letter and they messed up. That's slightly more boring, but it's the first thing that has made any sense to me. Though it doesn't explain why the prisoner used our address as the return address. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudoMom Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 Maybe it's the mom in me, but I just have the urge to say: wash your hands really, really good after handling it. LOL. And use soap. :Lol: 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wendy not in HI Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 That is so crazy! It would make me nervous that they have my address. I have opened our neighbor's mail that came to our house, without really looking at it - stack of mail...open...then realize it's not mine. Of course you would open the mail - I would go ahead and take it to the police (after i took some photos of it...) 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 First up, let me say... this probably (okay, not probably, definitely) should not have been opened. Dh started it! Without thinking about the legal issues, I guess. But now that it was opened, I'm even more confused. We got a return to sender letter today. Our address was clearly written on it. But not our name. Or the name of anyone we know. The letter had clearly been through the wringer and had clearly been opened and resealed as well. Inside were the following pages: * three large, computer printed images of black shoes (two of the same shoe, one of a different pair) all sitting on the same desk * a large computer printed image of a work schedule (that didn't have the names of either the sender or addressee) seemingly from a grocery store produce department * a prison form letter that seems to be for censored or rejected mail with no information filled out other than the return to sender box checked and the name of the inmate given as the same one on the return address * Google directions - one map page and one step by step page - showing a public transit route from one spot to a police station in a nearby suburb * a handwritten (in bubble girly handwriting) letter, front and back on a piece of comp book paper, addressing the person the letter was addressed to and meandering through some very confusing sentences, with some very foul language, about a lot of sex and who's gay and who isn't and a lot of "just think about it" statements that are clearly meant to drive some mystery point home - nothing about the shoes, the police station in the suburbs, or the work schedule, or the prison for that matter What the heck!? Like... what the heck? We've lived here for more than 15 years. The letter is from about a month ago. The address on the letter seems to be the local jail, but the form says the sender is the inmate. And just... the shoes! The directions! The work schedule? What what what? I wonder if this relates to a criminal investigation? Sorry. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janeway Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 Oh, the letter is definitely "inappropriate." There's a reference to the odors of someone's private tea room. I can't figure out why, if the sender was the inmate, they let it go "back" to the address she falsely wrote in the corner. Or why she wrote our address. I guess it's possible she made a mistake. Like maybe she reversed some numbers or something. Still odd. I am guessing someone was planning to get it from your house before you got your mail. Either that or the sender was trying to be anonymous. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 (edited) I wondered if the shoe images were maybe supposed to be evidence for a case or something. The way they were laid out on the desk and the only thing feature in the image made it seem that way. That or like they were going up on ebay. Yep that is what I'd assume. Police officer we know sent hours one day trying to identify a pair of shoes in a video as evidence. Looking on eBay etc to try find them. The letter could relate to someone to do with the case and the schedule could be to do with the fact that they were available at the time or not available at the time. I think I'd hand it in to police, explain the mistake (it's happened to me before where I opened the letter before I realised it wasn't ours so I think they'd understand) and hope they get it to whoever needs it. Edited January 11, 2017 by Ausmumof3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkyandtheBrains. Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 Could it be a friend has arranged to send you or your dh a mystery as a unique gift? I heard about this kind of thing a few months ago. https://www.mysteriouspackage.com Hah! This was my thought too. I sent one to my nephew at college once, his friends were horrified and mesmerized by the mysterious package that arrived. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmos Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 If you want to ask the police, I would just take it in. It seems hard to encapsulate in a phone call. Just tell them you "accidentally" opened it. That's the truth -- the accident was you forgot to use good judgment. ;) What an intriguing mystery, though! Have you looked up the person's last name in the phone book? Maybe it's a similar address to yours? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 11, 2017 Author Share Posted January 11, 2017 (edited) I am guessing someone was planning to get it from your house before you got your mail. Either that or the sender was trying to be anonymous. What's funny is that anyone who staked out our house would know there's always someone here. Like, dh works nights from home, so not only is there almost always someone here, but there's nearly always someone awake and here. It would be hard to steal our mail. Or, at least, hard to plan to steal it. ETA: Also important to note... to steal our mail you'd have to enter the house - in comes in the mail slot. Edited January 11, 2017 by Farrar 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clementine Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 That would send me on a google spree! I'd be researching the prisoner to see what she did & dig around to see what else I could find. But then I love true crime stories!! :lol: 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 I don't know what it is, but I think you have the first chapter of a new screen play for Netflix, or perhaps your own mystery book series! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 We had a former owner of the house call to let me know that their fake id was coming to our house since they were still using our address. I gave the fake Id to the police. How long have you lived in your house. Could the felon and her family have lived in your house prior to her arrest? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Excelsior! Academy Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 Is it stamped from a correctional facility? We've received several letters from multiple facilities (don't ask) and they are always stamped. I second turning it over to the police. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 11, 2017 Author Share Posted January 11, 2017 (edited) Really, if they were using your address to "steal" your mail, it may very well have been pulled out of a phone book. A mail slot is actually not common that I am aware of. Actually, it's certainly possible that it actually was intended to go to your house, but for someone to get before the mail arrives....without the inmate realizing there's no actual mailBOX at the house. Nah, they probably knew. The jail was a city jail, meaning they were arrested in this city (as I live in DC). Every house around here has a mail slot. Even in the ritzy parts of town, there are very few mailboxes. Our mail isn't always secure because we have an entryway and often lock in the inside door but leave the glass front unlocked unless we're going out. But you'd have to walk up to the door to try it in order to know that. My best guess is that it was either a number reversal or they just picked an address out of the air. Edited January 11, 2017 by Farrar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 11, 2017 Author Share Posted January 11, 2017 ETA: In FACT, it could be that the postal employee was the intended receiver, but ended up calling in the day the letter was supposed to be on the route and it was a sub, who just...delivered the mail. Ah, that's a good theory... but our regular guy was there today. I know because he was muttering. He mutters. Like, a lot. In another language. Maybe the sorter was supposed to get it though... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomatHWTK Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 You officially win the award for weirdest mail ever. I'd take it to the local PD. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 11, 2017 Author Share Posted January 11, 2017 Is it stamped from a correctional facility? We've received several letters from multiple facilities (don't ask) and they are always stamped. I second turning it over to the police. It's stamped, but it wasn't 100% clear if it was a post office or a correctional facility stamp. But since the letter is in there from the jail and it had clearly been opened and resealed, I assume they saw it, which is part of why I think it probably doesn't need a once over from any law enforcement... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 11, 2017 Author Share Posted January 11, 2017 We had a former owner of the house call to let me know that their fake id was coming to our house since they were still using our address. I gave the fake Id to the police. How long have you lived in your house. Could the felon and her family have lived in your house prior to her arrest? More than 15 years now. It seems unlikely that she (or he... female name, but there's a reference to some ambiguous gender designations) lived here before. And if so, that's a long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luuknam Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 My best guess is that it was either a number reversal or they just picked an address out of the air. Or they put street instead of road, or south instead of north, or butchered the spelling of the street name, etc. But yeah, I'd probably take it to the police. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luuknam Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 More than 15 years now. It seems unlikely that she (or he... female name, but there's a reference to some ambiguous gender designations) lived here before. And if so, that's a long time. Some people are in prison a long time... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janeway Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 What's funny is that anyone who staked out our house would know there's always someone here. Like, dh works nights from home, so not only is there almost always someone here, but there's nearly always someone awake and here. It would be hard to steal our mail. Or, at least, hard to plan to steal it. ETA: Also important to note... to steal our mail you'd have to enter the house - in comes in the mail slot. Drug dealers will sometimes send drugs to a person's house with the intent of grabbing it off the porch before the people at the address get it. I don't think they stalk the house before hand to make sure it is a good place. They simply do it enough and use random addresses. Sometimes, it does not work out. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 11, 2017 Author Share Posted January 11, 2017 Some people are in prison a long time... The bubbly girly handwriting was making me think the sender was young. But who knows. That's so sadly true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefgazer Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 Farrar, maybe your address was the pre-agreed-up drop point for mail, so it couldn't be traced to a criminal enterprise. I'd burn it and deny I ever had it, LOL. The bolded is specifically what made me think coded letter. It's likely that the intended receiver has some sort of key that makes specific words mean something else that spell out the code. Could be a drug deal, large or small, could be a hit on a snitch, could be something else. The stories DH has told me really are like Al Capone and the gangster movies come to life, just with modern gangs. I don't think that MS 13 or Latin Kings really operate that differently than the gangsters of the 20s. As for the addresses, honestly I don't know. Dh was the guard, not me. There are plenty of possibilities, like the sender of the letter is just some little stodge for the head gang leader in the prison and screwed up writing the letter. Could be that the addresses themselves are coded and a prison guard was in on it but screwed it up somehow. Could be other things that I can't think of right now. I have often said to DH that if prisoners would put their intelligence to LEGAL uses, the world would have a lot more millionaires and progress a lot farther. Criminals are VERY SMART...and VERY STUPID....at the same time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 (edited) I don't know what it is, but I think you have the first chapter of a new screen play for Netflix, or perhaps your own mystery book series! I read a lot of mysteries and crime fiction (and watch that genre on tv) and that was my first thought. What a great opening for a mystery! Edited January 11, 2017 by Lady Florida. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxbridgeacademy Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 Could be the inmate is about to get out on work release (so the work schedule) and needs those particular shoes for the job? Oh and not sure how work release is in DC but maybe they have the ability to get their own rides to and from the station? That would be if they were in Prison. County jail is under a year and I don't think they do work release stuff. My sister is in prison. I recently got a list of clothes/hygiene products, work schedule, and work address from her to pass on to my dad. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saraha Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 (edited) Thank you so much for posting this! All 8 of us have been discussing this and sharing ideas, it has been a really fun evening of family bonding! It is rare that we have a conversation where the 6 yo can participate as much as the 17 yo. So I really appreciate it! ETA: Oh and to the person who discovered and shared the mysterious packages company, thanks to you too! Edited January 12, 2017 by saraha 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted June 29, 2017 Author Share Posted June 29, 2017 (edited) So... another prison letter! This time it was a large package. And the prisoner in question is apparently in federal prison in another state now. I know, I know. But we were curious. It was a pile of like 25 or so greeting cards. All of them blank. All of them with a code scrawled on the envelope. D2 - No Blank Greeting Cards. Just card after Hallmark Card. Sometimes two per envelope. Blank. There was one card with that same bubbly, girly handwriting. It had a message of love that was not suitable to convey here. So... I'm thinking the theory that this is someone trying to send some sort of code and getting foiled is right. And they're using our address. So weird. ETA: Oh, yeah... so... how does one get in touch with the prison and say, by the way, don't know if you care, but... And... they're perfectly good, very generic cards. It seems weird to throw them out. Should I... what? Donate them to the thrift store? Use them??? I have no idea. Edited June 29, 2017 by Farrar 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoffive Posted June 29, 2017 Share Posted June 29, 2017 I would donate them. This is so odd. I don't know what you should do other than keep updating us. :) 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted June 29, 2017 Share Posted June 29, 2017 So strange!! I was sure this was going to be a "Mystery Resolved" party, but no! It continues! I might follow those Google directions to the police station and just, I don't know, ask what is going on. But part of me wants to let it travel its natural course. What if you recycle/donate the cards and somebody comes later to claim them!? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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