Archie Moses
Well-Known Member
https://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/07/08/bahamas.barefoot.bandit/index.html?hpt=T2
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colton_Harris-Moore
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colton_Harris-Moore
Colton Harris-Moore
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Colton Harris-Moore
Photo of Colton Harris-Moore, taken by himself and recovered from a stolen digital camera in Camano Island, Washington.
Born March 22, 1991 (1991-03-22) (age 19)
Camano Island, Washington, U.S.
Height 6 ft 2 in – 6 ft 5 in[1]
Colton Harris-Moore (born March 22, 1991), better known as Colt in his home town, is a fugitive from Camano Island, Washington. He is suspected in the theft of at least five small aircraft, a boat and two cars, and in the burglaries of at least 100 private residences in various locations around the Pacific Northwest of the United States and Canada. On the Fourth of July, 2010 he may have stolen an airplane in Indiana and fled to the Bahamas.
He became known as the "Barefoot Bandit" by reportedly committing several of his crimes barefoot.
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Biography
* 2 Suspected offenses
* 3 Notoriety
* 4 References
[edit] Biography
Colton Harris-Moore grew up in his mother's house in Camano Island, Washington.[2] Neighbors said they made several calls to Child Protective Services, believing Colton was neglected or abused.[2] In fact, Colton's abusive father walked out when he was about two years old, after choking him during an argument at a family barbecue.[3] According to his mother, Pam Kohler, his stepfather died when he was about seven years old, and from the time Colton was in the first grade, she knew there was something off about him – a "sort of a disconnection". He wouldn't listen to his teachers, started altercations at school, and sometimes deliberately broke things around the house, Kohler said. He started living in the wild at the age of seven, and would break into vacation homes in the area, stealing blankets and food, and then disappear into the forest for days.[4] His first conviction for stolen property came at age 12, and by the time he was 13, he had three more. Each conviction brought a 10-day stay in a detention center, or community service. His mother once said, "Every time he had anything any good, everyone thought he stole it. What does that do to a kid?"[5] In 2003, police found a neighbor's camcorder in his home. Never before sentenced to more than a month,[2] he fled a three-year sentence by walking out of a halfway house in April 2008.[6]
[edit] Suspected offenses
Harris-Moore is suspected to be responsible for approximately 100 burglaries in Washington, Idaho, and Canada, including bicycles, automobiles, light aircraft, and speedboats.[3] It is believed that he learned how to fly small planes by reading aircraft manuals and handbooks and by playing flight simulator computer games.[4] One plane he stole was a Cessna 182 belonging to KZOK-FM radio personality Bob Rivers, which was valued at $150,000. The plane was later recovered from the Yakama Indian Reservation, though it was so badly damaged that it was a total loss.[6] He is known to visit areas with wireless internet access, and use a laptop computer.[7] Some locals believe that his burglaries are not for the money, but to experience the fantasy of the happy home life he never had as a child. According to local sheriffs, he often would slip into a home just to soak in a hot bath or steal ice cream from the refrigerator. Initially, he would steal only what he needed for life in the woods, as a survivalist. Once, he allegedly used one homeowner's computer and stolen credit card to order bear mace and a pair of $6,500 night vision goggles.[3]
On May 30 or 31, 2010, police found a handwritten note and $100 at a veterinary clinic in Raymond, Washington, approximately 95 miles (153 kilometers) southwest of Seattle. The note read:[8]
“ Drove by, had some extra cash. Please use this cash for the care of animals --Colton Harris-Moore, (AKA: "The Barefoot Bandit") Camano Island, WA. ”
In late June 2010, Colton had been a suspect of vehicle thefts stretching as far east as Illinois. The trail of suspected thefts attributed to Colton passes through Idaho, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, and Illinois. Police found a 2008 white Toyota Sequoia in Norfolk, Nebraska, which was reported stolen in Yankton, South Dakota. Later that day, several burglaries were reported at Karl Stefan Memorial Airport, located one mile (1.6 km) south of where the SUV was abandoned.[9][10] A truck owned by the town of Ottumwa, Iowa was later recovered in Dallas City, Illinois.[11] On July 4, 2010, a Cessna 400 single-engine plane was reported stolen from the Bloomington, Indiana airport – it was later found crashed in the shoreline waters of Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas, again leading to speculation that Harris-Moore was responsible.[12] Shortly afterward, seven break-ins then took place across the island, during which Harris-Moore was captured on a security camera. The Royal Bahamas Police Force has begun a manhunt, which Harris-Moore has so far been able to elude.[13] On July 6, 2010, a federal judge in Washington state formally federally indicted Colton Harris-Moore for interstate transport of stolen property/airplane theft. The FBI is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to his arrest, and federal agents believe that he is responsible for the recent Indiana theft.[14]
[edit] Notoriety
Harris-Moore became known as the "Barefoot Bandit" by reportedly committing his crimes while barefoot. In Fall 2009, police found footprints at an airport hangar in Bonners Ferry, Idaho, where a plane stolen from there crash-landed approximately 260 miles (418 kilometers) to the west near Granite Falls, Washington. Police in the San Juan Islands also found cartoonish, chalk-outline feet all over the floor of a grocery store that was broken into in February 2010.[8] In Fall 2009, a Facebook fan page was set up, drawing thousands of entries,[6] and one local Seattle man started selling T-shirts bearing his picture with the words, "Momma Tried".[5] Local people from Camano Island have also attempted to vent their frustrations through a song,[15] as well as a blog, which includes selling their own merchandise and accepting donations to purchase the services of a bounty hunter.[16] In April 2010, 20th Century Fox purchased the film rights to the book Taking Flight: The Hunt for a Young Outlaw, based on a proposal by Bob Friel.[17]
