According to court documents, from September 2019 through July 2020, the United States Postal Inspection Service – Office of the Inspector General (USPIS-OIG) received more than 40 reports from the Salem Veterans Affairs Medical Center of medication parcels mailed to veterans in the Tazewell area that were never delivered.
Agents with the USPS-OIG reviewed video footage and saw Hale remove parcels from the sorting area, take them to an area of the Tazewell Post Office where employees keep personal belongings and hide them in her purse. On August 5, 2020, agents conducted on-site surveillance and caught Hale stealing pills from a package addressed from the Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Hale was interviewed that day and falsely told investigators that she had never stolen mail prior to that day.