On a side note, there are similar cases where things like this have happened:
Back in the late '90s, there was a senior lady (I think she was 84 at the time) in Yucaipa, California, who had outlived all her relatives and, for some reason, found her bank accounts restricted from her own use. When she inquired to the bank, she was told she no longer had control of them. (??) Shortly thereafter someone sold her car, which she reported stolen, but it was never recovered, and it was discovered that someone had sold it who had also sought legal custody of the woman in order to take over her retirement funds, explaining the control issue on the bank accounts. The woman did not know the person that had taken control of her accounts and her life, and the bank officer helped her find an attorney to deal with the issue. She was no longer able to go out and play bridge four times a week as she used to. This situation was further exacerbated when the woman found that she had to rely on senior shuttle transportation to get around town (not easy in Yucaipa--retail centers are a bit spread out and up and down Yucaipa Blvd, a sloping street and California St. near the Blvd.) The senior shuttle could only pick her up three times a week and not on the weekends.
They found the woman who did this to her, and the San Bernardino County DA filed several charges, all felonies. The woman who did this should still be in prison--the old lady is probably dead by now.
Some advice from this: If your mailbox is on a post make sure you check it right after it is delivered, otherwise, make sure your mail is dropped inside your house, or into a locked mailbox.
The old lady could have taken note of these problems but apparently the younger lady who usurped control had been checking her openly accessible mailbox before the old lady did, and was forging her signatures on documents and intercepting "Notice of Change" letters from her bank, which is how this happened.
Sometimes it's not the county--sometimes it's someone out there that is just purely evil.