Woman Gets Trapped Inside Willis Post Office

WILLIS, Mich. - A local woman has a long, unexpected stay at the post office. She went in to get mail from her P.O. box, but a malfunction kept her trapped inside.

The Willis Post Office, like many others, closes at 5:00 p.m., but the post office box area remains open until 7:00 p.m. and then the door locks automatically. However, people still inside can get out, usually.

Thursday, a 52-year-old woman got locked inside. Shelia Huddleston saw her when she was mailing letters.

"Four hours in there. I would've been going crazy, but she's okay. So, that's the main thing," Huddleston said.

911 was called. Michigan State Police got involved and contacted the U.S. Postal Service.

"Something with the actual mechanical mechanism on the door prevented the door from opening. They're supposed to close, lock behind you, but allow anybody to leave. So, it was a malfunction," said Shannon LaBruyere with the USPS.

"I fixed it," said Chuck Garza with USPS maintenance. We asked him what caused the problem and he responded, "Had a broken pin in it and the linkage."

The witness says the woman remained calm.

"I would've been going crazy. I'd been trying to break those windows out and everything," said Huddleston.

Many other post offices in metro Detroit have similar door security systems and because of the incident in Willis, they're going to be checked out.

"It was a fluke, but an unfortunate fluke, and we really appreciate the customer being understanding. We certainly had no intention of making her stay there. We want customers, but we like them to leave," LaBruyere said.