Hundreds of FedEx packages found dumped in Alabama woods, sheriff's office says

HAYDEN, Ala. - An Alabama sheriff is trying to figure out how hundreds of FedEx packages ended up dumped in the woods.

An estimated 300 to 400 packages of various sizes were found in a ravine near the small town of Hayden on Wednesday, the Blount County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

Deputies were sent to guard the scene until FedEx workers could arrive to pick up the packages, Sheriff Mark Moon said. FedEx sent multiple trucks and drivers from across the South to load up the packages, Moon said.

Photos posted on the sheriff's Facebook page show the packages strewn about the forest and piled at the bottom of a wooded hillside.

Natasha Abney told WBMA-TV that her neighbor found the boxes on his property.

"I mean it was just a river of boxes," Abney said. "Some busted open, some not."

It wasn’t clear why the packages were in the ravine, the sheriff said, but he hoped to have some answers soon.

"The security of our customers’ shipments is a top priority and we are committed to treating our customers’ packages with the utmost care," Memphis, Tennessee-based FedEx said in a statement provided Friday.

"We are taking steps to recover and transport the affected packages as quickly as possible," the company said. "In addition to cooperating with law enforcement, we are conducting a review of this situation and will take the appropriate action."

The site where the packages were found is about 30 miles (48 kilometers) north of Birmingham.