Former ClackCo commissioner accused of theft may have used fake ID to flee US, affidavit says

(PORTLAND TRIBUNE) — An affidavit filed by a special agent for the Oregon Department of Justice suggests former Clackamas County Commissioner and Lake Oswego resident Melissa Fireside may have crossed into Mexico and then flown to Amsterdam.

Last week, the Oregon Department of Justice was granted a motion to revoke the release of Fireside, who was indicted in March on charges related to alleged theft from an elderly man, after receiving information indicating she was not residing at her current address in Lexington, Oregon.

Fireside had previously ran for Lake Oswego City Council and was then elected to the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners last November before being forced to resign due to the investigation into her alleged thefts. Prior to the revelation that she may have fled the country, the former commissioner was granted a conditional release by Clackamas County Circuit Court but was required to remain in Oregon. Her trial was set to begin in December.

According to the affidavit written by Jerry Gorman, Fireside’s ex-partner informed the Clackamas County District Attorney’s Office on Oct. 29 that Fireside had taken their 9-year-old child out of school “and apparently fled the country.”

“She has an Austrian passport that she used for the reservation that is valid until 2032 and the airline was Dutch Royal Airlines. There were no records of other recent border crossings for Fireside. According to the TSA contact and OWC, Fireside may have used a fake ID to cross into Mexico,” the affidavit reads.

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