Notorious 18yr old "Barefoot Bandit" eludes police in Canada and the US

[CougarKing]

Just another young punk, not a folk hero.  :

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/091226/canada/us_canada_crime_offbeat

SEATTLE, Washington (AFP) - Eighteen-year-old Colton Harris-Moore is achieving folk hero status as the "Barefoot Bandit" in the US and Canada after a string of burglaries and dare-devil escapes from the law.

(...)

The "Barefoot Bandit" legend took on a new dimension in October when a private plane crashed near the Cascade Mountains east of Seattle. It had been stolen in Idaho, near where a rash of burglaries had occurred.


Searchers never found the pilot, but a few days later, an intruder was reported at a nearby home. When police arrived, the suspected burglar ran into the woods and fired a gun at them.

They never found the assailant, but investigators found bare footprints leading up to the door and inside the Idaho hangar where the stolen plane had been stored.


More crimes were soon attributed to the teenager, including another plane theft, this time in the San Juan Islands in late 2008.


Seattle radio personality Bob Rivers had his plane stolen and it was later found wrecked in a field almost 200 miles (320 kilometers) away.


"The thief broke into a locked hangar, apparently found some keys in the hangar, stole the plane," Rivers said. "All indications are that Colton Harris-Moore is the prime suspect."

Harris-Moore?s mother, Pam Koehler, didn?t doubt her son could be a pilot if he wanted to be.

"He's smart. He took an IQ test a few years ago and he's three points below Einstein," she said. "I hope to hell he stole those airplanes -- I would be so proud."
Since October, nothing has been heard of this wunderkind of burglars, but a Hollywood producer wants to make a movie of Harris-Moore's life and compared him to Leonardo DiCaprio's character in the film "Catch Me If You Can."

Harris-Moore has a cult following, including a fan club on social networking site Facebook, and a Seattle man has even started selling T-shirts bearing his picture alongside the words "Momma Tried."

But the man officially named Time Magazine's "most wanted teenage thief" for 2009 is not so popular with the authorities.

Island County sheriff Mark Brown, whose office has had to deal with the criminal pursuits of Harris-Moore since he was 11, growled, "He is an adult felon! I will not have him made into some kind of folk hero."

 

[PMedMoe]

Yeah, I think I included his mother's comments in the "dumbest thing you've heard" thread.  :

 

[armyvern]

More news on this little shit; hope they catch his sorry ass this time.

Reproduced under the fairdealings provisions of the copyright act ...

Police swarm Orcas Island in search for Harris-Moore

Story Published: Mar 18, 2010 at 8:20 AM PDT
Story Updated: Mar 18, 2010 at 9:20 AM PDT

ORCAS ISLAND, Wash. -- Officers from multiple law enforcement agencies have converged on part of Orcas Island where Colton Harris-Moore is believed to be hiding.

San Juan County Sheriff Bill Cumming said sheriff's deputies, FBI agents and a dog-tracking team are on the ground, and a U.S. Customs and Border Protection helicopter is helping with the search.

The search began about 1:15 a.m. on Thursday.

"Harris is believed to be in a very isolated, very rugged area on the west side of the island," Cumming said.

Harris-Moore has long been a thorn in the side of police, taunting investigators with his brazen crimes.

Each time police have gotten close, Harris-Moore has managed to disappear into the woods without a trace.

He has garnered considerable media attention and was nicknamed the "Barefoot Bandit" after allegedly committing some break-ins without wearing shoes.

Since he escaped from a halfway house in April 2008, Harris-Moore has been sought in scores of break-ins around Western Washington and is suspected of stealing four small planes and crashing each one.

Police suspect he's also stolen boats and luxury cars, and broken into dozens of homes and businesses, including several on Orcas Island. His total haul may top $1.5 million, officials say.

It's believed Harris-Moore may have returned to Orcas Island on Feb. 10, when a stolen plane landed on the island after dark and a local grocery store was broken into and burglarized.

His exploits have garnered national media attention, and a Facebook fan page for the teen burglar has attracted thousands of fans. A local business even started selling T-shirts with the teen's likeness.

 

[LineJumper]

I wonder if he's the one you can sometimes find on Kokanee cans.

 

[Hawk]

Just heard a news-blurb on TV then confirmed on the internet - the Barefoot Bandit has been caught in the Bahamas.

Hawk

 

[OldSolduer]

Just heard a news-blurb on TV then confirmed on the internet - the Barefoot Bandit has been caught in the Bahamas.

Hawk

I certainly hope he has, but its more than likely once he gets his slap on the wrist he'll be appearing on the late night talk shows.

 

[Michael OLeary]

I can see it now:  "I've had a few legal problems, but they were just the mistakes of youth and I've learned from them, will this keep me from joining the CF as a pilot?"

 

[the 48th regulator]

I certainly hope he has, but its more than likely once he gets his slap on the wrist he'll be appearing on the late night talk shows.

BZ on him,


I hope that he is scooped up by every federal organization, and hired to teach them what he has done.  Bill Gates was infamous for hiring young hackers, to acheive what he needed, maybe the Government can do the same.  This kid eluded forces across the Continent, was able to break into numerous airports, finally find and steal a plane, then fly it to another country, outside of the continent.

You want to Punish him, and make sure he is locked up??  This guy should be running security or the nation.  And he did it barefoot....I see a NIKE endorsement!

Good on him, I say!

dileas

tess

 

[zipperhead_cop]

Feh, he's a bed wetter.  Hope he has a grand time in prison for the rest of his young adult life.  The prick had a gun when he was arrested.  He acted like he was going to turn it on himself until the Bahamian police opened up on him.  Then he shrieked, peed his pants and surrendered.  Pathetic. 
And now he's a celebrity.  People suck. 

 

[GAP]

I can see it now:  "I've had a few legal problems, but they were just the mistakes of youth and I've learned from them, will this keep me from joining the CF as a pilot?"

all the while whining about having to wait while his pesky pardon comes through....mind, he taught himself to fly, just not land....maybe the CF could teach him that little trick,......... maybe he could learn how to write pardons..... :

 

[Brutus]

As someone who has some connection to the Orcas Island, I can tell you that this little bugger was a menace. In such a small and relatively isolated community, his criminal behaviour caused a lot of uneasy nights and stress to the residents. Also, the police manhunts  that were necessary as a result of this little puke were intense. They just aren't used to seeing helicopters and men in black gear with assualt rifles coming out of no where. I'm not criticizing them, it was necessary, but it was tough to take for a lot of these people.

Add to that the increased insurance costs on the residents and businesses he stole from (in this lousy economy), and I can bet they were celebrating the other night when he was nailed.

But it is too bad that a guy who has an obvious gift in fieldcraft, escape and evasion, et al wasted it on this nonsense.

 

[zipperhead_cop]

mind, he taught himself to fly, just not land....maybe the CF could teach him that little trick

Oh cripes, don't talk like that!  Now that kid who thinks his mad skillz in video games will make him a good soldier is vindicated!!