GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- A Grand Rapids postal carrier's dedication that led to a confrontation with a group of package thieves has turned into a viral story.

Louie Kunst, a United States Postal Service carrier of three years, was doing his usual route about 11:30 a.m. Dec. 30 in the 200 block of Morris Avenue SE when he heard a group of three teenagers make an offhand comment about not worrying about "the mailman."

Kunst's interest turned to suspicion as he observed the teens scope out each porch in the area.

Then he saw one teen snatch a package Kunst had just delivered before the boy turned and ran away with it.

RELATED: Grand Rapids residents frustrated by holiday package thieves

Kunst knew he had to do something.

"My adrenaline was going," said Kunst, 24.

He hopped into his vehicle, drove up to them and demanded they return the box. He kept telling them that he saw them take the package and knew they had it.

"They reacted like I was crazy," Kunst said.

Once they saw that Kunst had his phone out and was trying to take their photo, the teens dropped the package and ran off.

"I think they were more scared that someone did see them and confront them," said Kunst, who does not think the teens realized stealing mail and packages is considered a federal offense.

The package, as well as the product inside, had been damaged, so Kunst called his supervisor, Rob Meade at the Grand Rapids Carrier Annex, to figure out what to do next.

Meade decided to write a letter explaining the situation before sending the package out for delivery once more the next day.

That letter went viral on Reddit after the recipient, Nathaniel George, received his package and posted the letter online with the caption, "The United States Postal Service doesn't play games."

Meade said this is the first time he has ever faced this situation.

However, package theft is not a new phenomenon. Meade said they receive about 20 calls a day from customers complaining that a package is missing.

Meade said carriers deliver about 5,000 packages a day in December, making thefts a fairly rare ratio.

"It's just an ongoing thing, unfortunately, you have to deal with," Meade said.

Kunst, whose parents are also mail carriers, said he will continue to be vigilant on "the best job" he's ever had.

"There's a lot of pride to it because a lot of people respect you," Kunst said. "It's something that needs to be done right."

Still, Kunst feels like he didn't do enough because he didn't catch the suspects and wasn't able to turn them in to authorities.

But Meade is pleased with how the situation went down.

"Louie went above and beyond," he said.