RIVERVIEW, Fla. (AP) — Tampa Bay area deputies are searching for the Grinch who stole hundreds of pieces of mail from boxes in a suburban Hillsborough County neighborhood.

The letters, holiday cards and flyers were removed from the mailboxes either late Monday or early Christmas morning at three Riverview-area subdivisions and elsewhere. Some of the mail was opened.

Much of it was dumped on area streets and lawns.

In one case, mail from one home was stuffed into a neighbor’s mailbox. In other cases, mail from one subdivision was dumped on the ground in a different subdivision.

Investigators aren’t sure if a thief or thieves kept anything or what their motive might be. They have not yet ruled out the possibility that it was a mean holiday prank.

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