Abandoned Amazon packages in Lakeville, MA woods; driver cites stress – NBC Boston

Several dozen Amazon packages were discovered apparently abandoned in the woods in Lakeville, Mass., early Sunday morning, days before Christmas, police said.

Officers collected them and returned the packages to Amazon, according to the department, which said the driver identified himself and will not face charges, citing stress for dumping the packages.

They were seen in three large, full boxes in the woods off Bedford Street at about 02.00 by Sgt. Shawn Robert, according to police. Body camera footage shows the moment Robert saw the abandoned packages scattered at the edge of the forest. He called for help when he realized that all the items would not fit in his cruiser.

Lakeville Police Department

Officers loaded them into pickup trucks to take them back to the station.

With no recent reports of stolen packages in town, investigators opted to return them to the distribution center in Middleborough.

“I would like to commend Sgt. Shawn Robert for his discovery of these unattended packages while on routine patrol,” Chief Matthew Perkins said in an initial news release. “Sgt. Robert probably saved a lot of local residents a Christmas headache by noticing these bags and getting them back to Amazon, hopefully in time for a holiday delivery.”

Food delivery robots use ultrasonic sensors, cameras, GPS and artificial intelligence to make deliveries over short distances.

Police initially did not know why the packages were left unattended, but said Monday night that earlier in the day, an Amazon driver came to the department to say they left the packages around 6 p.m. 19 Saturday due to stress.

The department did not share more about the nature of the stress, but noted that the driver, who they did not identify, planned to tell their manager about the incident.

“I am proud of the way our Lakeville police officers handled and investigated this matter. At this time, we are not seeking criminal charges and consider this a human resources matter for Amazon,” Perkins said in another statement.

Amazon confirmed to NBC10 Boston that all orders have been reprocessed and have either been re-shipped or are being re-shipped.

“Customers can check their accounts for updates on estimated delivery times. We also thank Lakeville PD for locating and returning the packages, and we are working to support their investigation,” an Amazon representative said in a statement.

The statement was shared before police announced that the driver had spoken with investigators and was not facing charges. NBC10 Boston has reached out for further comment.

Assonet resident Blake Brangan got a message from Amazon that his package was lost – it has since arrived.

“It’s just crazy to just throw them out in the woods like that, but luckily for the officer who found them,” he said, adding: “It’s stressful during the holidays, I felt really bad for whoever was.”