A former Oregon lawmaker is now a fugitive accused of fraud and flight across international borders, sparking a manhunt that has crossed continents.
Melissa Fireside, 44, vanished last week after authorities say she fled the United States with her nine-year-old son, possibly heading to Europe after slipping into Mexico.
Her disappearance came just weeks before she was scheduled to stand trial on theft charges linked to an alleged scheme to defraud her elderly mother’s boyfriend.
Fireside, a former Clackamas County Commissioner who once touted herself as a reform-minded Democrat, resigned from office after being charged with first-degree theft.
Investigators allege she posed as her mother’s 83-year-old boyfriend, Arthur W. Petrone, to secure fraudulent loans and credit card advances totaling roughly $30,000.
Court records detail how Fireside allegedly forged Petrone’s signature to obtain a $21,000 bank loan and a $9,000 credit card cash advance.
Investigators say she also attempted to secure an additional $35,000 loan by setting up an email account under Petrone’s name but was rejected because of his limited income.
Petrone, a retired supermarket employee living in assisted care, died in August before the case could reach trial.
His daughter, Lynn Roberts, had initially alerted police last year after discovering suspicious activity in her father’s accounts.
She told investigators her father was too frail and financially constrained to agree to such loans, describing him as a vulnerable target for manipulation.
Detectives traced more than $29,000 of the allegedly stolen funds to a repayment made by Fireside to Oregon State Representative April Dobson.
Dobson said she had lent Fireside money last summer after being told the former commissioner needed “temporary relief for her personal business.”
The legislator told The Oregonian she agreed to help out of sympathy for Fireside’s situation as a single mother, saying she had no reason to suspect any wrongdoing.
Officials said that Fireside’s last known address was empty when bail officers arrived to conduct a check.
According to The Oregonian, investigators later discovered that she had booked a flight from Mexico to Amsterdam for October 24, just one day after she reportedly crossed the southern border.
Authorities believe Fireside is using her Austrian passport. Oregon Department of Justice spokesman Jerry Gorman told reporters it remains unclear how the former official obtained that document in the first place.
It remains uncertain what Fireside intended to do with the remainder of the money or how long she had been planning her disappearance.
Officials have not confirmed whether her son was taken willingly or under duress. Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said the “top concern” of law enforcement authorities is “the safety and well-being” of the child.
“We are working closely with law enforcement partners here and at the federal level to locate Ms. Fireside and ensure she is held accountable under Oregon law,” he remarked.
While law enforcement agencies continue to track her movements, she may already be in Europe, where her passport allows unrestricted mobility across dozens of borders.
In a separate case unfolding nearly 2,000 miles away in Ohio, political tensions spiraled into criminal charges after Cincinnati City Council candidate Kevin Farmer was arrested for allegedly breaking into the home of Republican congressional candidate Rosemary Oglesby-Henry.
According to prosecutors, Farmer was taken into custody on Saturday after Oglesby-Henry provided video evidence showing him breaking a garage window to gain entry.
The arrest was the latest chapter in a tumultuous relationship between the two, marked by accusations of violence, stalking, and retaliatory arrests.
Oglesby-Henry, who was arrested in late September for allegedly pointing a firearm at Farmer, has described the situation as one of ongoing harassment.
“While Mr. Farmer remains squatting in my home today, he used law enforcement to bring a false case against me and had me jailed without cause,” she said.
“He is an abuser, and I will not back down. I will use the law, the right way, to protect women and to set my life back on track.”
She denied pointing a gun at Farmer, saying officers never found a firearm and that she had fully cooperated with police.
She currently faces a charge of aggravated menacing in connection with the earlier confrontation.
Records show that Farmer himself was charged with domestic violence and assault against Oglesby-Henry in July.
The charges were later dropped, but a protective order was issued, which he allegedly violated before his most recent arrest.
Court documents indicate that Farmer now faces charges of burglary and violating a protection order.
He is being held on $60,000 bond and will be required to wear an ankle monitor if released pending trial.
Following the incident, Farmer told WLWT-TV that he intended to withdraw from the city council race.
Despite his announcement, his name will remain on the November 4 ballot. He is officially listed as a nonpartisan candidate.
