Postal worker foils burglary in progress outside Florida home
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An alert mail carrier became a crime fighter when he spotted two burglars stealing from a house on his route, authorities said.
Beth Schafer was at work Monday when just after 10 a.m. she got a call from police saying that someone had broken into her house in Orlando, Florida.
"The entire house was overturned," said Schafer. "All the drawers and closets had been turned over and emptied."
Police said a car was parked in the driveway and the crooks had been in the backyard, removing TVs, iPads and jewelry from the house.
But during the heist, Schafer said the crooks were stopped in their tracks by a mail carrier, who confronted them.
According to the homeowners, the mail carrier, known only as Ralph, knew that the people in the driveway did not belong there. He asked them what they were doing and they ran off.
A representative from the U.S. Postal Service said that because of the criminal aspect of the case, Ralph did not want to talk to the media.
Schafer said Ralph stopped by her family's house on Tuesday to check on them and their dog, Chester. He got out of the house while the crooks were loading up the car. Ralph was able to stop Chester before he ran away.
"I opened the door, (and Ralph) was crying. He felt so bad," said Schafer.
"That you had been robbed?" asked Channel 9's Shannon Butler.
"Yeah," said Schafer.
The suspects were last seen in a dark-colored Audi. They remain at large.
