Muskegon Mystery Letter Finds Its Way Back To Family [Video]

A letter from a serviceman home to his family in Muskegon during World War II somehow got sidetracked until it popped up in a carrier's mailbag.

Now, the letter is headed back to family members after it's odd journey.

Muskegon Postmaster William Rowe says he's never seen anything like it in his career, and he's still mystified as to how a letter from a World War II service member wound up getting mailed to its intended address almost 70 years after the fact.

The story began when the letter popped up in a postal carrier's mailbag as he made his rounds on the West Side of Musekgon.  The address read "313 Washington" but the house was abandoned, so the carrier brought it back to the Post Office.

Rowe noticed something odd about the letter.  It had been re-addressed and sent from Minneapolis.

The letter had been readdressed to "Resident" and the original addressee, "Mr. and Mrs. R.D. Sensabaugh" had long ago vacated the premises.  The search was on to find a relative who might appreciate the letter.

We’re happy to report that letter is headed to the writer's granddaughter in Florida.

Since an article about the lost letter appeared in the "Muskegon Chronicle," Rowe has been able to track down the granddaughter of the addressee.  She is a fourth grade teacher in Winter Haven, Florida, and the letter is now headed to her.  Rowe notes it appears to have never been opened, but what prevented it from being delivered in the first place remains a mystery.

Here's the story from our media partner, WZZM 13.