Are you missing your mail? It could be in this U-Haul truck abandoned in Miami-Dade

Postal inspectors are working with Miami-Dade police detectives to find out who is responsible for stealing mail from residential mailboxes found inside a U-Haul pickup truck.

Police set up a perimeter looking for the driver who bailed out of the truck in the area of Southwest 117th Avenue and 140th Terrace around 3 a.m. Thursday. No arrests have been made.

Bryan Masmela of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service told CBS Miami that more than 200 pieces of mail have been recovered that were stolen from the area on Thursday.

How to prevent mail theft

Masmela says there has been an increase locally and nationwide in mail thefts, and that U-Haul trucks have been used before in such crimes.

“Unfortunately, we have seen in the past U-Haul trucks being used to canvass neighborhoods,” he said. “We have seen a rise in mail thefts here in South Florida and the rest of the nation. We have some advice: Pick up your mail as soon as possible and track your packages. Get a locked or secure mailbox, if you can and if you are going to be away for a long weekend or vacation, make sure your mail is held.”

To report stolen mail

U.S. Postal Service customers should contact the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) to report information on crimes involving mail. These reports can be made online at www.uspis.gov or by calling 877-876-2455.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477 (TIPS).