Search continues for postal worker's killer

By: Donathan Prater Staff writer | Opelika Auburn News
Published: May 29, 2010

The Memorial Day holiday will be a time for many to relax.

For the officers of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, it will be a time to regroup.

Residents will soon be receiving flyers again seeking their help in the ongoing investigation into the 2009 murder of Tony W. Harrelson, whose case has also been featured on the America’s Most Wanted television series.

“Flyers will begin going out, this time with a photo of the victim,” said U.S. postal inspector Tony Robinson. “Some have gone out this week in the Opelika area and will continue during June.”

The $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for Harrelson’s death still stands, Robinson said. A number of roadside billboards in the metro-Montgomery area, Auburn, Opelika and Dadeville areas will also carry reward information, said Yulanda N. Burns, U.S. postal inspector and public information officer.

Harrelson, 47, a postal contract truck driver, was shot to death on Friday, Oct. 2, 2009, between 5:45 and 6:15 p.m. at the Camp Hill Post Office while conducting postal duties.

After Harrelson’s murder in 2009, law enforcement sought the public’s help with any information about the incident.

“And postal inspectors are continuing to investigate any and all tips the public provides,” Robinson said.

In addition to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Alabama Bureau of Investigation, Tallapoosa County Sheriff’s Department and the Camp Hill Police Department are also assisting with the investigation.

Although no one has been charged in Harrelson’s murder at this point, the passage of time is something Robinson said can occasionally work in favor of law enforcement.

“For example, accomplices may fall out of favor over time, prompting them to no longer conceal what they know about the case,” Robinson said. “Time may also pass while background information is being put together to make an iron-clad case against a suspect.”

Time may pass, but the resolve to bring those responsible for Harreslon’s death won’t, Burns said.

“Somebody out there knows something and at some point will talk,” Burns said. “Whether they’re conscious wears on them or they’re bragging to someone about what they’ve done, we’ll give this case our full attention until it’s solved.”

Anyone with information concerning this case is asked to contact the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 1-877-876-2455 (option 2), the Tallapoosa County Sheriff’s Department at 1-256-825-4264 or the Secret Witness Hotline at 1-256-827-2035.