SHEPHERD, Texas – Police in San Jacinto County continue to investigate the death of a mail carrier whose body was found in a burning car Friday.
The mail carrier was identified as Eddie "Marie" Youngblood, a United States Postal Carrier, who made rural delivery rounds in her own vehicle.
The San Jacinto County Sheriff's Office received a 911 call of a possible assault of a postal worker around noon on Friday in the area of Harrell Road near Highway 156 in Coldspring. When they arrived, they discovered a car on fire near a rural pumping station on Morris Creek.
The fire department was called to put out the blaze and Youngblood's body was then found inside of the car.
The woman worked out of the Coldspring office and delivered mail in the area.
Police said they are searching for a person of interest. James Wayne Ham is described as white, six feet tall, 145 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. He is considered armed and dangerous.
When the Local 2 News crew left the scene Friday night, a San Jacinto Sheriff's deputy searched their van. He told them they were looking in every vehicle that left the neighborhood in case someone was trying to stow away and leave the area.
People who live near Harrell Road were also having difficulty getting home. The road remained shut down for several hours and no one was allowed down it without a police escort.
"I'm just trying to get home," said Kim Reed. "I'm scared. This is unnerving to me. It's so quiet and peaceful back here we never have any trouble."
Late Friday afternoon, a worker at the post office in Shepherd confirmed to Local 2 their office was briefly put on lockdown, but it's unclear if it was related to the incident in Coldspring.
"I figured something happened," said Kevin Jolly, who lives on Harrell Road. "They just didn't want to talk about it. They were pretty closed lipped."