ROCHESTER, NY – This consumer alert takes a look at the case of the missing intercontinental Christmas gift. One of our viewers mailed her gift a month early to ensure it arrived in Guatemala on time. Instead, her gift ended up on the wrong continent.

Deb Antoniades and her husband Mike live in a quiet townhouse community in Pittsford. In warmer weather they like to sit outside.

“We were out on our deck a lot when that mowing crew came through,” Antoniades said. “And this guy stopped mowing when he thought we were doing something that needed quiet, and so we started saying hello and I learned a little about his family.”

She learned that his name was Jose and he was from Guatemala. He comes to the States every year for six months and takes care of the lawn to earn money for his wife and two daughters.

“He’s away from them from April until almost November,” Antoniades said. “And he showed me some photos of them and pointed out that they use Facetime when they can. And his eyes filled with tears. I can’t imagine how difficult this must be for the whole family.”

And so Antoniades and her family decided to send the girls a Christmas present.

“I have a mystery you could share,” Antoniades said. “I was looking for something that wasn’t too heavy because I know how much airmail can send. So I sent it out a month in advance on November 25th.”

She mailed the package to her local post office in Pittsford. Tracking records show that from there it went to a distribution center in Rochester and then on to Phillipsburg, New Jersey. The next stop was New York City, where it was loaded onto a plane bound for the wrong continent, Asia. There it landed in Doha, Qatar. From there, her gift traveled northwest to Yerevan, Armenia, 7,621 miles from her intended destination, Guatemala. So she called the USPS customer service number at 1-900-ASK-USPS (275-8777).

“That was the justification that was given to me, the justification if you will, after the woman spent $33 in postage on this puzzle, she said sometimes things get thrown in the wrong container,” Antoniades.

She said USPs offered no apology, refund or promise to finally get the package to Guatemala. Instead, USPS sent it back to the states. Tracking shows it was indeed sent through customs and was at a USPS facility in Queens as of Monday evening. But Antoniades is most disappointed with the two little girls she never met.

“Isn’t it nice for all of us to know that someone cares about us, especially if it’s a stranger? And isn’t this the right time for it?” asked Antoniades.

I contacted USPS executives who told me they were investigating the case but did not answer any of my questions. They instead directed me to a USPS website that indicates Antoniades may be able to receive a refund if she submits a form that she must pick up at the post office. The same applies to domestic mail.