A United States Postal Service (USPS) worker from Michigan was found dead inside a mail handling machine.
Nicholas John Acker, 36, was found dead Saturday inside a mail handling conveyer belt system at the USPS Detroit Network Distribution Center in Allen Park, according to Click On Detroit. Authorities said Acker, who worked the midnight shift as a mechanic at the facility, had been dead for hours when firefighters arrived. Acker had worked at the facility for about a year, the outlet reported. (RELATED: Video Shows Moment Plane Crashes Into Neighborhood While On Hurricane Relief Mission, 2 Dead)
Acker’s fiancée, Stephanie Jaszcz reacted to his death, telling Click On Detroit she went to the facility where he worked after he didn’t return home from his shift or answer her calls or texts.
“So I went up there, went to the fence and the intercom, and I was talking to some girl, and I was, like, ‘Listen, not to sound crazy, but my fiancé is missing,’” Jaszcz said.
After waiting by the gate for an hour, Jaszcz learned Acker had never punched out of work.
“She tells me he never punched out, and they’re looking for him. All of a sudden, an ambulance, a fire truck, [and] cop cars are all coming in. No one will let me through the gate. No one will talk to me.”
Two hours later, Jaszcz learned her fiancé was dead.
“I dropped to my knees, crying, and then stood up because the gate was opening, and I ran through that gate,” she explained.
Jaszcz and Acker had only been engaged for 10 days, according to Click On Detroit. Jaszcz described her fiancé, an Air Force veteran, as generous and thoughtful. She said she still doesn’t know what happened to Acker.
“All they know is that he was in a machine. They don’t know how, when, or for how long. The autopsy is going to take 4-6 months. We’re living a nightmare,” Jaszcz said.
Police were called about a death at the mail distribution center around 12:25 p.m. on Nov. 8, Allen Park Police Detective Lt. Jason Dobbertin said, according to the Detroit Free Press. Dobbertin said Acker’s death did not appear to be suspicious, the outlet reported.
The USPS said it was “deeply saddened” by Acker’s death in a Nov. 10 statement.
“The United States Postal Service is deeply saddened by the loss of our employee at the Detroit Network Distribution Center (NDC) in Allen Park, MI. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family. The NDC is fully operational at this time,” the statement reads, according to Click On Detroit.
Acker’s fiancé reacted to the statement, calling the comment about the mail still moving as “gross” and “inhumane.”
“‘The mail’s still moving’? Gross. A man gone. A veteran. A husband. A human being. And all you can think of is mail keeps moving? Inhumane. It’s gross,” she told Click On Detroit.
USPS authorities are handling an investigation, Dobbertin said, according to the Detroit Free Press.
A GoFundMe fundraiser set up to help Jaszcz cover her and Acker’s shared finances has raised $12,350 as of writing.
The Daily Caller contacted the Allen Park Police Department, who did not immediately comment.