Thieves Follow FedEx, Snatch Packages

A Portland, Ore.-area man was stunned after thieves drove up to his front door, snatched several packages, and dashed away.

The incident happened all in a matter of minutes and it was all caught on camera.

ABC Affiliate KATU caught up with the victim, who identified himself as "Mark" because he didn't want to share his true name.

Mark said he was tipped off the FedEx man was walking up his driveway last Friday when his two dogs started barking.  He tried calming the dogs, allowing the delivery man time to leave. A few minutes later when Mark went outside, the packages were gone.

What did remain was a trail of dog waste in the shape of footprints.

Confused, Mark consulted his home surveillance video and found that less than two minutes after the FedEx delivery man left, a car pulled up his driveway.

The grainy video shows a white woman with long blond hair jumping out of the passenger side of a decade-old Chrysler then snatching the packages and driving off.

The whole incident took less than 15 seconds.

"It was really well planned," he told KATU.  "Just amazed at how brazen this person was, to come down the driveway and snatch it like that."

Lt. Steve Alexander, public information office for the Multnomah Co. Sheriff's Office, says the theft is an isolated incident and they are still reviewing the surveillance tape for clues.

"Hopefully by putting this video out there the public will know who they are," said Alexander.  "It's pretty brazen to drive right up and up and steal a package."

When reached by phone, a FedEx spokeswoman expressed regret about the stolen packages.

"Porch pirating" reaches epidemic proportions around the holiday season. ABC News Correspondent Neal Karlinsky reported in December on thieves stealing presents right off front porches and coast-to-coast surveillance cameras catching them in the act.

The Postal Service estimates $16.5 billion in merchandise will be shipped in the month before Christmas, everything from computers to gift certificates. Karlinsky found that it's not too hard to find waiting packages just sitting on porches, often for hours or even days.

To prevent future thefts, the FedEx spokesowman suggested that a shipper require a signature or send your package to a FedEx retail location and for pick up there.