I've heard stories of packages going the rounds, ten states or more and then finally coming home. I think the packages get put in a larger container that is now scanned so they never check each individual item. When the container or truck finally gets where it's going they'll find your package and send it on its way but until the big container is emptied they'll never scan or see the actual package again. I'm pretty sure they don't have any built in checks and balances that make sure each scan is in fact closer to the destination, otherwise weather re-routing would flood the system with false alarms. I don't think it's all that common but with millions of packages you get some crazy stuff going on now and then. On the Coleman Lantern forums a guy posted the tracking for one that got lost, it was a pretty good cross country road trip. Both ways, covered more states than I've been to.