WINN (AP) – A part-time U.S. Postal Service worker faces a state charge of theft in connection with an ongoing investigation into the disappearance of up to $800 in holiday gift cards and cash that customers mailed through the branch post office in Winn.

Angela Russell, 43, of Mattawamkeag was issued a summons on Dec. 28. She resigned her job within the last week after meeting with investigators, according to Tom Rizzo, a Postal Service spokesman.

The investigation began when a Winn resident reported that several holiday gift cards she had mailed never reached their intended recipients.

The victim, who kept her receipts for the cards, accompanied investigators to Wal-Mart in Lincoln, where one of the cards had been cashed, said Penobscot County Deputy Sheriff Michael Knights. Store surveillance video cameras helped lead to Russell.

Investigators have been trying to determine how many thefts occurred from mail sent through the Winn post office, Knights said. More complaints have come in since word of the first theft began circulating.

“We have had five or six people come forward to say that they are missing things,” he said.

Russell’s initial court date on the state charge was not immediately known.

Postal officials declined comment on whether she would face federal charges.

Russell had been hired nearly 11/2 years ago to assist on busy weekends and whenever Winn’s postmaster was on vacation.

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Information from: Bangor Daily News, http://www.bangornews.com

AP-ES-01-04-08 0952EST