Charles McKinley

:"This page describes a man who was transported as cargo. For the tennis player see Chuck McKinley.

Charles McKinley (b. 1978?) is a Bronx warehouse worker who gained a small amount of fame for mailing himself to his parents home in a crate from New York City to Dallas, Texas during a four week vacation in 2003.

A friend of McKinley helped package him in a shipping crate, where he was eventually loaded onto a Boeing 727 at Newark International Airport. The package was listed on its manifest as carrying computer equipment and clothing, weighing a total of 350 lbs (159 kg). It was marked for "Saturday special delivery". This scheme was two-fold in its reasons. It was likely inspired by the folk song "I'm Gonna Mail Myself to You". Second, McKinley charged the $600+ shipping costs to his (presumably now former) employer, not wanting to buy a $300 ticket on a passenger jet.

The Kitty Hawk Air Cargo delivery plane made stops in Buffalo, New York and Fort Wayne, Indiana. The package then was transferred onto another jet, which went on to his parent's home state of Texas. At DFW Airport, the crate was received by ground shipping company Pilot Air Freight, which operates out of Grapevine, Texas.

Right before delivery of the crate to McKinley's parent's home in DeSoto, Texas, the deliveryman, Billy Ray Thomas, found the warehouse worker out. Thomas "noticed a pair of eyes between the slats of the crate," according to the DeSoto Police Department report. Thomas told cops he thought a dead body was in the crate, "until the slats were kicked open and a live person emerged from the crate."

Upon exiting, McKinley shook the deliveryman's hand and offered his thanks. The other man reciprocated by calling the cops. Soon after, the police arrived back at 721 DeSoto Drive to identify McKinley. When his ID was checked, police found outstanding warrants, two of them from the Dallas County Sheriff's Department, the other from the Garland Police Department. When warrants were confirmed, McKinley was "arrested and transported to DeSoto City Jail and booked without incident."

FBI and Transportation Security Administration agents were assigned to probe McKinley's case.

See also: Henry "Box" Brown, a 19th century Virginia slave who escaped to freedom by arranging to have himself mailed to Philadelphia abolitionists in a dry goods container.

References

*Sgt. Sharp, "Narrative, Incident Service Number: 03-004971" DeSoto: DeSoto Police Department. September 06, 2003.
* [http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/Southwest/09/09/plane.stowaway/index.html CNN: Man shipped from New York to Texas in crate]