A mail carrier who spotted days of untouched mail outside a Vancouver home alerted police for a welfare check — a decision authorities say may have saved an elderly woman’s life.
VANCOUVER, Wash. — A Washington mail carrier’s close knowledge of his daily route helped lead officers to a woman in urgent need of help.
On Aug. 17, the carrier realized that one of his regular customers in Vancouver had not collected her mail for several days. That immediately stood out because she typically picked it up daily, and he also knew she had mobility challenges. After knocking on her door and getting no answer, he called 911.
Responding officers checked with neighbors, who told police they had not seen the woman in days either. Officers knocked at the door and looked through the windows but could not spot anyone inside. They eventually made entry into the home.
Body camera footage released by the police department shows officers moving through the house before locating the woman unconscious in a back bedroom. She was still breathing when they found her.
The woman was stuck between the bed and a wall, making it difficult for officers to reach her. They moved the bed out of the way to clear a path for firefighters and medics who took her to the hospital.
Police spokesperson Kim Kapp said the woman’s situation could have been much worse without the mail carrier’s call.
“The mail carrier did the right thing and saved her life, making that phone call and saying something was not right and can somebody go check on it,” Kapp said.
She said police respond to welfare checks regularly. The calls can come from relatives who haven’t heard from someone, neighbors who notice something unusual or people concerned about someone in crisis.
In this case, the mail carrier’s knowledge of his route made the difference.
“That was a really good indication something definitely was not normal because this mail carrier knew the pattern of particularly this woman and others on his route,” Kapp said.
The incident is also a reminder that noticing a change in someone’s routine can be enough reason to check in or ask for help, police said.