The Case of the Missing Handheld Scanners (Part 1)

It started, as these things often do, with a shrug.

A driver finishing a late shift realised their handheld scanner wasn’t where they’d left it. The device had been signed out correctly, used throughout the day, and logged once at the end of a route — then it was gone.

No alarms sounded. No error messages appeared. No one noticed anything unusual.

At first, the incident was treated as a simple misplacement. A trolley checked. A van searched. A locker opened and closed twice “just to be sure.”

The scanner did not turn up.

Within days, similar reports began filtering in from other bays. Different shifts. Different drivers. Same outcome.

Internal logs reviewed by Courier Weekly show no forced sign-outs, no duplicate IDs, and no unexplained access attempts. In every case, the scanner simply stops appearing where it should.

Management sources described the situation as “annoying, but not urgent.” Drivers disagreed.

No formal investigation has been announced. No notice has been posted.

For now, staff have been advised to “double-check equipment returns” and “keep devices secured when not in use.”

The scanners remain unaccounted for.

Courier Weekly will continue to monitor the situation.