A New Folk Hero?
VANCOUVER — He’s known around the Pacific Northwest as the Barefoot Burglar, a Jesse James of the Internet era who’s managed to avoid capture during a one-man crime spree that’s drawn a Facebook following in the tens of thousands.
Ever since escaping from a minimum security facility in Renton, Wash., on April 29, 2008, Colton Harris-Moore, 18, has been antagonizing authorities on both sides of the border with his alleged uncanny ability to commit crimes, then vanish into the woods he now calls home.
He’s believed to be responsible for a string of robberies of everything from planes, boats and cars throughout Washington’s Island and San Juan counties as well a rash of robberies that have may have stretched as far as B.C.
Now, the 6-foot-5 teenager from Camano Island, Wash., with the goofy grin and night-vision goggles, finds himself the focus of a multi-page spread in the current issue of Maxim magazine.
But as his popularity grows, locals tell The Province it’s high time his exploits, that began when he was 12 years old, are brought to an end.
Despite the praise lavished on him in the comments section of the Facebook page dedicated to him (22,821 members) and his official fan club, they say he’s no more than a glorified thief.
“I just don’t have time anymore to talk about this stupid kid,” said Josh Flickner, the manager of Camano Island’s Elger Bay Cafe, the location of one of Harris-Moore’s exploits in July 2008.
“Everyone wants him caught and they are tired of him, but they are more tired of hearing about him and the whole media frenzy.”
Last week, authorities on Orcas Island, located in San Juan County, northeast of Victoria, thought they’d caught their man following a massive air and ground manhunt on the rugged island.
The search, believed to be related to the Feb. 11 discovery on Orcas Island of an abandoned stolen plane, was later scaled back to an “ongoing investigation” when they came up empty-handed.
There was an unconfirmed eyewitness spotting of Harris-Moore on the island Wednesday.
RCMP, meanwhile, have been notified of the possibility he may try to slip into Canada, said Sgt. Duncan Pound of the border integrity program.
“For the most part I would say it is a heightened awareness,” Pound said Wednesday. “Obviously, if we have assets that are available and not tied up doing something, then we can deploy them along the border.”
Harris-Moore was named as a person of interest in a break-in last September at an unmanned airport in Creston, B.C., where two planes were moved and a vehicle was stolen then later ditched near the U.S. border. To date, it’s the only Canadian investigation the teen has been linked to, said Pound.
In addition to playing host to a series of thefts and break-ins dating back to 2008, Orcas Island is the location Harris-Moore is believed to have first acted on his lifelong obsession with flying when, in November 2008, the self-taught pilot, described by his mother as a genius, stole a single-engine Cessna.
He crash-landed the plane in the middle of the Yakama Indian Reservation, miraculously escaping without any injuries. He’s believed to have stolen and crash-landed three more planes since then.
theprovince.com |
