A once-rising star in Oregon politics has now vanished into the shadows of international flight, as former Clackamas County Commissioner Melissa Fireside, 44, becomes a fugitive from justice — accused of orchestrating a deeply troubling financial scam involving a vulnerable elderly man, and fleeing the country with her young son just weeks before her trial.
Fireside, who was elected in November of last year and resigned amid fraud charges, was set to face trial this December for first-degree theft. But now, investigators believe she’s crossed the southern U.S. border into Mexico, and may have already fled to Europe on an Austrian passport — raising troubling questions about how she obtained dual citizenship, and whether the international system will be able to bring her back.
At the heart of the case is a disturbing allegation: that Fireside impersonated her 83-year-old would-be stepfather, Arthur W. Petrone — a retired supermarket worker in an assisted living facility — to steal $30,000 through fraudulent loans and a forged identity. She is accused of using a fake email account and signing Petrone’s name on bank documents to secure a $21,000 loan and a $9,000 credit card advance, despite the bank denying a larger $35,000 request due to Petrone’s limited finances.
Petrone passed away in August. His daughter, Lynn Roberts, blew the whistle on the suspicious activity in his accounts, triggering a criminal investigation that ultimately unmasked Fireside’s alleged scheme. Roberts said her father, frail and financially modest, would never have agreed to such loans.
But the trail didn’t end with the alleged theft. Investigators discovered that $29,000 of the funds were funneled to Oregon State Representative April Dobson, who says she loaned Fireside money last summer after being told the embattled commissioner was facing a temporary financial hardship.
Dobson, who has not been accused of wrongdoing, said she agreed to the loan out of sympathy, calling it a gesture to help a struggling single mother. The actual reason for Fireside’s financial desperation remains unclear — even as court documents and property records show she owned a $900,000 home in Lake Oswego, one of Oregon’s most affluent suburbs.
Just days before her disappearance, Fireside allegedly withdrew her nine-year-old son from school without the consent of her former partner, prompting a report to authorities. She hasn’t been seen since. She was not present at the address listed with her bail officers, and records indicate she booked a flight from Mexico to Amsterdam. Her Austrian passport, valid through 2032, allows her to live freely across 27 European Union countries.
Now, Melissa Fireside is not just an accused fraudster — she’s an international fugitive, and the clock is ticking.
Her attorneys have refused comment since her disappearance. Earlier, they stated she was “entitled to the presumption of innocence.” But that presumption becomes increasingly difficult to maintain as she flees from trial, evades law enforcement, and potentially hides in a European country with no extradition agreement.
