Body of missing Toledo mail carrier found in Monroe County

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - A body found in Monroe County on New Year’s Eve has been identified as a missing Toledo letter carrier, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities say the body of Xiao Lu, 25, was located inside a vehicle about 6 p.m. Friday off Whiteford Center Road and Sterns Road in Whiteford Township.

Lu served as a mail carrier with the United States Postal Service in Toledo for six months, according to Mike Hayden, the president of the National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 100.

“Everybody seemed to enjoy working with him,” said Hayden. “He was a very soft-spoken individual. I didn’t know him well, but what I knew of him, I had nothing to dislike and we are thinking of his family now.”

Lu was last seen Tuesday leaving the downtown Toledo post office on St. Clair St. in a maroon 2005 Toyota Avalon. Toledo Police reported Lu missing Thursday in a Facebook post, adding that Lu had a history of “depression and suicidal thoughts.”

Missing Adult: 25 year old Xiao Lu was last seen on 12/27/2021 leaving his job at the U.S. Post Office at 435 St. Clair....
Posted by Toledo Police Department on Thursday, December 30, 2021

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said the official cause of death is still under investigation, but foul play does not appear to be a factor.

Hayden said that condolences have been pouring in from letter carriers across the country.

“We are all letter carriers and we all tend to look out for each other,” Hayden explained. “There will likely be some sort of fund set up for the Lu family.”

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