ST. LOUIS – Some St. Louis-area residents are scratching their heads over an obscure mail mystery: Why do some local packages take an unexpected cross-country journey before they eventually make their way back to St. Louis?
Over the last year, several Reddit users shipping or expecting to receive their mail in St. Louis have shared their experience of their packages heading somewhere unexpected before they reach their intended destination, according to tracking number data from USPS.
One Reddit user claims their package departed a St. Louis distribution center to eventually move through distribution centers in Champaign and Springfield, Illinois, before returning to St. Louis.
Another user in Illinois claims their package first departed a St. Louis distribution center and moved through a Peoria, Illinois distribution center, only to return to St. Louis. Then the package made its way to a Springfield, Missouri distribution center before returning to St. Louis.
Another user from St. Louis claims their package was shipped out of the St. Louis area, then processed at a St. Louis distribution center, later to receive an update that the package was “In transit” to the “next facility” of an unknown destination, then to arrive back at the St. Louis distribution center.
This month, FOX 2 also learned of an order that was first shipped out of Utah for a St. Louis-area recipient, processed by the St. Louis distribution center, then processed through a distribution site in Queens, New York before returning to St. Louis.
So what gives? FOX 2 reached out to Tara Jarrett, a Missouri communications specialist on behalf the United States Postal Service, and received this reply on the recent package reported to FOX 2:
“Upon reviewing the tracking information, it appears this package was misdirected to New York in error. When mail service issues occur, we take steps to quickly resolve customer concerns. We gladly work to address any specific issue from the community when brought to our attention and we encourage customers to reach out to their local postal station.”
USPS did not immediately provide information on how often packages are misdirected in the St. Louis area.
However, the agency released an audit in February 2021 on “misrouted mail.” It found that USPS misrouted almost 73 million misrouted First-Class letters from March 1 through September 30, 2020, which officials say was around 0.15% of total First-Class letter volume, or less than 1%, processed during that time.
If your package appears to be misrouted, USPS encourages you to take the following steps to inform them:
Visit the “Contact Us” or “Email Us” section of the USPS website and follow instructions accordingly.
Tag or DM @USPSHelp on social media platform X.
Send a message to USPS on Facebook.
The USPS statement to FOX 2 also said, “The Postal Service will diligently continue to investigate customer’s concerns and correct deficiencies to improve service to our communities. Mail delivery is now current, and we are making every effort to service all customers. We apologize for any inconvenience to our customers and thank them for their patience.”
USPS adds that every email will be carefully documented and appropriate action taken to strengthen service.
As for mail in the St. Louis-area, Missouri officials Cori Bush and Josh Hawley have both pushed the U.S. Postal Service Inspector General for answers to regional disruptions. Some residents have informed them that they’re not receiving essential documents, like utility bills and social security checks, in the mail or did not receive them weeks after key due dates. There were also some staffing shortages for St. Louis-area operations earlier this year.
It’s unclear whether any of these trends are connected to misrouted mail in the region.
To track the status of your package from USPS with a tracking number, CLICK HERE.
