The White House confirmed on Thursday that the family’s mailed present was delivered to the wrong person and that it had been opened during its route from Washington to Chicago.
The woman who received the package told the media that she intends to send the package along to the intended receiver.
Alane Church, the woman who received the package, told NBC’s “Today” show on Thursday that her family received a package from their uncle a week late and that it was in total disarray, having apparently been opened before it arrived.
“Parts of the old box were in this toilet paper box that the post office repackaged,” she said. “In the bottom of the box was this extra gift. As we were reading the tag, trying to figure out, you know, where this came from, and it was opened. So we then discovered this was a very personal gift to Mama Kaye.”
“Mama Kaye” is what Sasha and Malia Obama refer to Kaye Wilson, their godmother.
A picture of the gift showed a tag addressed to “Mama Kaye and Papa Wellington,” from “Barack, Michelle and the girls.”
The package reportedly contained a homemade photo book, like those that can be made on the photo-sharing site Shutterfly, containing pictures of the Obama family, Church said. She showed the media the cover, which featured a photo of Malia Obama smiling, to the camera, but wouldn’t show the inside.
“We are sort of wanting to keep it private for Mama Kaye. It’s very special, very special. Private moments of their year 2013 together,” Ms. Church said.
“The president and first lady sent a book of photos to their children’s godmother for Christmas. There was an errant delivery, but we’re appreciative of the effort underway to make sure the gift arrives at the intended destination soon,” a White House official said.
The U.S. Postal Service reportedly has commenced an investigation into the mattedr.
