LA wildfires reignite search for ‘eco-terror’ arsons after fake arrests of firefighters
The FBI has relaunched a decades-long manhunt for a serial arson suspect accused of running a domestic “eco-terrorist” cell that set more than half a dozen fires in the 1990s and early 2000s shortly after Los Angeles authorities announced the arrests of two fake Oregon firefighters – one of whom has a criminal history of arson.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department told Fox News Digital Sunday that Dustin Nehl, 31, and Jennifer Nehl, 44, were arrested after they allegedly impersonated firefighters and drove into a restricted area in a fake fire truck from a fake department.
The FBI is offering $50,000 for information leading to the arrest of Josephine Sunshine Overaker, a suspected domestic terrorist accused of setting fires to spread the animal rights message along with a group of fellow radicals. She was also accused of impersonating a firefighter.
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The 1998 Vail ski resort arson that authorities say was the work of Josephine Sunshine Overaker and her alleged terrorist cell known as “The Family.” (FBI/YouTube)
On Sunday, 24 years ago, Overaker was charged with arson, destruction of an energy plant and domestic terrorism. Her exact age is unknown, but she is believed to have been born between October 1971 and November 1974.
The incidents she was allegedly involved in were linked to extremist groups known as the Earth Liberation Front and the Animal Liberation Front. The alleged attacks took place in Oregon, Washington, California, Colorado and Wyoming in early 1996.
Hours after LA authorities announced the couple’s arrest, the FBI’s Most Wanted account on X reposted a flyer seeking information on Overaker, a longtime fugitive.
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The shared image shows fugitive Josephine Sunshine Overaker’s distinctive back tattoo and an age sketch of how she might look now. She is the last remaining suspect on the run in the 1998 Vail ski resort bombing that caused millions of dollars in damage, one of the most devastating eco-terrorism attacks in US history. (FBI)
It was not clear whether the Nehls had any ties to Overaker or the radical groups she was accused of working with. The FBI redistributed her wanted poster on the 24th anniversary of the federal indictment.
Dustin Nehl has a criminal record that includes previous arson charges, according to authorities, who found him dressed in firefighting gear, carrying a radio and riding with his wife in a scrapped fire truck that was bought at auction.
The vehicle was emblazoned with the name of a bogus Oregon agency, the “Roaring River Fire Department.” Underneath their firefighting gear, according to authorities, they were wearing T-shirts from CAL-Fire, the California state fire agency.
Dustin Nehl served five years in prison for a series of vandalism that culminated in arson at a country club and other locations, LA magazine reported.
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The rebuilt Two Elk Lodge at Vail Ski Area in Vail, Colorado, in October 1999. It was built to replace the original building, destroyed in an arson attack by an eco-terrorist group known as The Family, which had ties to the Animal Liberation Front and Earth Liberation Front. (John Epperson/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
Overaker is the last remaining suspect of 17 in the catastrophic 1998 Vail ski resort fire in Colorado who has not been caught, according to federal prosecutors. In 2018, colleagues a long-time fugitive Joseph Mahmoud Dibee was arrested in Cuba for his role in the plot. He pleaded guilty in 2022 in exchange for an 87-month prison sentence.
The FBI calls it “the largest eco-arson in history.” The fire destroyed the luxury Two Elk Lodge restaurant, which was later rebuilt, disabled ski lifts and leveled other buildings, according to authorities.
Other targets were a meatpacking plant in Cavel West Redmond, Oregonand a barn belonging to the Bureau of Land Management in Litchfield, California.
Overaker allegedly led a cell of domestic terrorists known as “The Family,” blamed for between $45 million and $80 million in damage in 25 arson attacks. To avoid detection, she allegedly stole her bomb-making materials instead of buying them.
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Overaker, a Canadian-born American citizen, has a large tattoo of a bird on her back and may be posing as a firefighter, midwife, sheep herder or masseuse, according to FBI. She has brown hair, brown eyes, is 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighs about 130 pounds. Agents said he had facial hair on his upper lip.
She used a number of aliases over the years, including Lisa Quintana, China, Jo and Osha, according to the FBI. She is fluent in Spanish and may have moved to Spain.
She faces life in prison if convicted.
Fox News’ Stepheny Price contributed to this report.
