COLUMBIA & DANE COUNTY, Wis. (WKOW) -- Authorities say a woman suspected in a series of mail thefts in Columbia and Dane Counties is now in custody.
Captain David Clark with the Columbia County Sheriff's Office says the agency began receiving reports on Friday, Sept. 6 from people in the Towns of Dekorra and Otsego that mail had been stolen from their mailboxes. Capt. Clark says more than 20 additional reports of stolen mail came in from these areas over the next few days.
Investigators were able to identify a suspect vehicle and learned it was also suspected of numerous, similar thefts in the northern portion of Dane County.
Capt. Clark says this led officers to 20-year-old Rachel Russell of Van Etten, New York. Russell was arrested Tuesday, Sept. 10 in La Crosse with the help of the La Crosse Police Department.
Russell was taken to the Columbia County Jail.
Clark says additional charges and arrests are possible.
A large quantity of stolen mail has been recovered. Detectives identified several victims who may not be aware their mail was stolen and will be reaching out to them in the near future.
Anyone with any information about these mail thefts is asked to contact Detective Brian Loewenhagen at 608-742-4166 x3315 or via email at brian.loewenhagen@columbiacountywi.gov.
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