4 indicted in 1998 firebombing at Vail resort

updated 2:54 p.m. ET May 19, 2006

DENVER - A federal grand jury has indicted four people in a 1998 firebombing at the Vail ski resort that caused an estimated $12 million in damage, one of the most devastating ecoterrorism attacks in U.S. history.

Two of the suspects, Chelsea Gerlach, 29, and Stanislas Meyerhoff, 28, are in custody in Oregon facing arson charges in a separate case, prosecutors said Friday.

The whereabouts of the other two, Josephine Sunshine Overaker, 31, and Rebecca J. Rubin, 33, are unknown, U.S. attorney’s spokesman Jeff Dorschner said.

The indictment, handed up late Thursday, accuses the four of setting fire to a lodge, two restaurants and at least five other buildings.

Responsibility for the Vail fire was claimed by the Earth Liberation Front, a shadowy underground group blamed for economic sabotage across the country that has resulted in tens of millions of dollars in damage. The FBI describes the group as one of the nation’s leading domestic terrorist organizations. ELF says harming people is not its intention.

Authorities had earlier said Gerlach was a prime suspect in the case. Her family said they believe she is innocent.

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