LYON COUNTY, Nev. (KRNV & MyNews4.com) - A flag was first raised for the Howells when they checked their mail Thursday to find a handwritten note. Someone signing the letter as only "a stranger" said they were "upset" after finding a stack of government papers about the family laying around in public.
“It was scary,” Cheryl Howell said.
The letter claimed confidential court documents about the couple's daughter were discovered in an alley behind a Yerington casino. They list the family's birth days, addresses and even social security numbers. All of which has the family worried about identity theft.
“When you are dealing with the justice system you would think that stuff is held sacred. And apparently it's not,” Howell said.
The family says the documents were from the Lyon County Juvenile Probation Department - and they question if this happened to others.
“We're bound by confidently with juveniles involved. It was a mistake of some sort,” Program Director Roger Sayre said. He believes this was an isolated incident.
“To this point we really don't know how that document got out there, but we're looking into it,” he said.
He also says it seems they will be tightening up the process to keep something like this from happening again. And he seems like there wasn't any damage done since the papers were returned. But the family's not taking that gamble after the papers were found at the casino - stressing they'll be watching all their financial accounts.
