Sightings of former Gov. John Kitzhaber and fiancee Cylvia Hayes have been few and far between since Kitzhaber resigned last Wednesday and the two departed Salem.

But there was such a sighting one week ago. And it raised quite a stink.

The former governor and Hayes showed up at the Knott Landfill southeast of Bend in a pickup and an SUV about 2 p.m. last Friday and spent a few minutes dumping trash, according to Timm Schimke, the director of the Deschutes County Solid Waste Department.

As it happened, there was a glitch processing the credit card that the former first couple offered for payment -- one that locked up the entire system and required a supervisor to reset.

At that point, workers recognized who they were dealing with and apparently decided the dumping might be of interest to law enforcement. Kitzhaber and Hayes are targets of a federal investigation.

Deputies from the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office arrived quickly thereafter. Workers directed them right to the trash in question as the entire episode was captured on camera.

"I've seen the videotape," Schimke said, adding that there was no shredding activity. "They just came in and dumped garbage and left."

Deputies did spend some time sifting through the first couple's cast offs. Schimke doesn't know what, if anything, they took away from their rubbish reconnaissance.

The sheriff's office did not respond to calls for comment on Friday afternoon.

-- Ted Sickinger