HAMILTON, Mich. -- Where did the mail go? That's the question several people in Hamilton are asking after the mail they sent out never got to its destination.
The residents said that the mail sent out on April 28, 2015, is still missing.
Residents tell FOX 17 they didn't realize anything out of the ordinary until late fees appeared for bills they thought had already been paid.
The United States Post Office said that it's aware of the issue and is investigating.
It appears that mail put into the out-going postal box in Hamilton on April 28 didn't get to where it was suppose to go.
We found a local barber in town named Merle Beyer who said that he, too, got a late fee from a bill he believe was paid.
"Ninety percent of the bills I write out, I go through the Postal Service," said Beyer. "I'm old fashioned."
Merle Beyer has been trimming Hamilton's finest since 1968. He says he has never late on a bill, but a $33 late fee showed up on his Cabela's charge card, a bill he said was mailed out on April 28.
"My wife saw it on Facebook that another person in town was having problems with the same thing as people on the 28th mailing," said Beyer.
Checking his carbon copies to make sure he did indeed remember to write the checks, Beyer said that he went to the postmaster for answers. "He said it was lost in Grand Rapids, a big place," said Beyer. "I don't know how you lose it, but it's the first time ever."
Beyer admits lost mail wasn't anything he was losing sleep over, knowing a simple call might do the trick. "I just said we got a little problem here."
"I paid my bill and yet it doesn't show up paid. I spoke to the postmaster, and he said it was lost in the mail. I'm sure he never heard that before," said Beyer.
Beyer said that his credit card company took off the late charge and understands that mistakes happen.
"Nobody is perfect, let's put it that way," said Beyer. "We go years and years and years and never have any problems, and something happens, and, yes, I'm not going to get all worked up over it. There's nothing to get worked up about."
The U.S. Postal Service issued a statement to FOX 17 saying it is investigating the issue, along with the Postal Service's law enforcement entity, the U.S. Inspection Service.
As to what did or did not happen, Beyer is offering up some of his own advice.
"Maybe we should go back to the Pony Express."
Several people have posted on Facebook that the problem affected them. All of them with the same issue of mailing out their bills on April 28.
Beyer said that in more than 60 years living in Hamilton, he's never had an issue with the Postal Service and will continue to use it.
