Julie Keith letter: Plea for help from Chinese labor camp worker stuffed in Oregon woman's Halloween decorations

Oregon mother Julie Keith expected to find Styrofoam headstones in the graveyard kit she bought at Kmart for Halloween.

What she didn't expect was a desperate plea for help from one of the Chinese laborers forced to make the holiday decorations in brutal conditions.

The 42-year-old charity worker from Portland discovered the chilling letter hidden between the two novelty headstones when she opened the kit in October.

Plea for help: The letter, pictured, came in a box of Halloween decorations purchased at Kmart

'Sir: If you occasionally buy this product, please kindly resend this letter to the World Human Right Organization,' the unsigned note, that was folded into eighths, read.

'Thousands people here who are under the persicution [sic] of the Chinese Communist Party Govement will thank and remember you forever.'

The letter's author said the Halloween product was made in Masanjia Labor Camp in Shenyang, China, where laborers are forced to work for 15 hours a day without time off on the weekends and holidays.

'Otherwise, they will suffer torturement, beat and rude remark. [sic] Nearly no payment,' they wrote in choppy English accompanied by Chinese characters.

The plea said workers at the labor camp make only 10 yuan per month - the equivalent to $1.61.

The China director at Human Rights Watch, Sophie Richardson, told The Oregonian that the origin or authenticity of the letter couldn't be confirmed.

But Keith thinks it is genuine.

She said she analyzed the product packaging and showed it to a Chinese co-worker at the Portland Goodwill store, where she is a donations manager, and they thought it looked authentic.

'I fully believe it is real,' she told Fox News, describing how the headstones where the letter was found were sealed together and the box was closed with tape.

'It had to [have] come from where they said.'

ICE's Homeland Security Investigations is looking into the note and Keith said she had handed over the box of decorations and the letter to ICE agents to help in the investigation.

Response: Sears Holdings Corporation, which owns Kmart, said in a statement that it was investigating the matter after the product was sold at one of its Oregon stores

Sears Holdings Corporation, which owns Kmart, said in a statement that it was also investigating the matter.

'Sears Holdings has a Global Compliance Program which helps to ensure that vendors and factories producing merchandise for our company adhere to specific Program Requirements, and all local laws pertaining to employment standards and workplace practices,' the company said.

'Failure to comply with any of the Program Requirements, including the use of forced labor, may result in a loss of business or factory termination.'