Bahamas authorities captured fugitive burglar and Internet folk hero, the "Barefoot Bandit,"Sunday, after he led police on a final high-speed boat chase in a bid to evade arrest, bringing to an end his two-year flight from U.S. justice..
Colton Harris-Moore (19 years old) was arrested before dawn on northern Eleuthera island, at Romora Bay Resort and Marina, according to a Bahamian police official. He said the suspect would soon be flown to Nassau, the capital, where the Royal Bahamas Police Force would be holding a news conference. Island police have been searching for him since he allegedly crash-landed a stolen plane a week ago on nearby Great Abaco Island.
Harris-Moore, who has been running from American law enforcement since escaping from a Washington state halfway house in 2008, gained fame and thousands of fans who admired his ability to evade arrest. He is suspected of stealing cars, boats and at least five planes — including the aircraft he allegedly stole in Indiana and flew to the islands off Florida's coast, despite a lack of formal flight training.
The 19-year-old is a skilled outdoorsman who honed his abilities growing up in the woods of Camano Island in Puget Sound about 30 miles (50 kilometres) north of Seattle. He survived a very troubled childhood and was first convicted of theft when he was twelve. By thirteen he had three more convictions. He was sentenced to nearly four years in juvenile detention after being caught in an unoccupied home in 2007, but he did well enough there that he was transferred to a group home, where he sneaked out of a window more than two years ago.
Island police picked up his trail in Eleuthera after recovering a 44-foot (13-meter) power boat stolen from a marina on Abaco, 40 miles (65 kilometres) to the north, where he was suspected in a string of burglaries.
Burglary victims in Eleuthera told the press on Saturday they had little doubt the lanky, 6-foot, 5-inch fugitive was on the island.
Ferry boat captain Freddie Grant said he was returning from Harbour Island in northern Eleuthera on Wednesday evening when he saw a tall, white teenager bathing or swimming in an inlet near the ferry landing. Ferry service employee Stan Pennerman also said he saw Harris-Moore lurking in the woods the same day.
Neither man thought much of it until they noticed the next morning that somebody had damaged the ignition system on three of their boats.
A bar at the ferry landing was also burglarized Wednesday night by a thief who cut a screen to break in, dismantled a security light, and moved the television's remote controls, said Denaldo Bain, the 30-year-old manager of Coakley's International Sporting Lounge.
"He was watching television. He was just chilling," said Bain, who also said he saw the teenager in the inlet.
He was dubbed the "Barefoot Bandit" for allegedly going shoeless during some crimes and once allegedly leaving behind chalk footprints as a calling card. He has become a folk hero to supporters, who have bought "Run, Colton, Run" T-shirts and written songs about his exploits. He has tens of thousands of followers on Facebook.
During the boat chase, witnesses said, the boat ran aground in shallow water and police quickly shot up the engine.Harris-Moore threw his laptop and mobile phone into the water and briefly held a gun to his own head, said Anne Ward, manager of the resort.
"He was saying he was going to kill himself," she said. "But they talked him out of it, subdued him, and brought him back to our marina."
He is due in court on Tuesday to face charges for offences on two Bahamian islands since his plane crashed in the territory. Police said he was expected to be turned over to US authorities under an extradition treaty. Legal experts estimate he could face seven to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Romanticized by some as a latter-day "Billy the Kid," His legend took on a new dimension in 2009 when a private plane crashed in the Cascade Mountains, east of Seattle. It had been stolen in Idaho, close to where a rash of burglaries had occurred.
In a digital camera recovered from his stolen booty, police found a self-assured smirking self-portrait. The photograph soon became the public face of the teenaged robber, now an Internet idol.A fan page set up on the social networking site Facebook has over 68,600 members.
His mother, Pam Koehler, has hailed her son as a genius, even if of the criminal sort. "He's smart. He took an IQ test a few years ago and he's three points below Einstein," she said last year.
What a waste of a genius. A little guidance before he was twelve might have turned his life in a wonderful direction. Now he has to languish in prison for most of his remaining youth.
They say he had a trouble childhood if only they had paid attention to him more and seen he was in trouble at 12-years-old...I think he was asking for help then, we as parents should pay more attention to our kids and we would know when something was out the normal...now all that talent is going to waste...good going Mrs.Harris-Moore.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with you on that...HI!
ReplyDeleteHi cutie...did you get my e-mail??
ReplyDeletehaven't checked ...hold on
ReplyDeleteHow is Nana, still giving everyone hell...hahaha
ReplyDeleteYou didn't let Brian over do it at the lake...HUH ???
How is P/J and the twins??
Everyone is okay.We had a fine time. The water was warm and the food was good.
ReplyDeleteGot your email, what a surprise.The fun begins again.
By the way some of my friends have tried to get to Starhooks using our web address and the search rngines can't find it.
The reason is we have not submitted our name to any of the blog feeds that help people find blogs that they like. I have tried to submit our name to a few but it may only be the blog owner that can do it.I'll try again.
I'm going to Vegas for a couple of days.
ReplyDeleteWe both are blog owners and can do the same thing. I'm going to call Lois and see how she gets there, she come everyday. The address is :
ReplyDeleteStarhooks.blogspot.com...
That's what they use in the office.
DC sent his son off to Iraq. the poor kid is always being sent away to horrible places, foster homes, prison, war.He never had a happy day in his life.
ReplyDeleteI never summitted to any engines for FTBB.
ReplyDeleteThey can't get to us the way we do...they have to put the url in for it.
Be sure to tell them it's the same way they get here...only they use Starhook.blogspot.com ,we can hope from blog to blog but they can't, it's the same when you visit Heidi's blogs, you had to click one off and then go to the other.
That's the address they are using here and it comes up empty.
ReplyDeleteSo what they are doing is going to FTBB and clicking on my name and and going to my profile then clicking on Starhooks.
FTBB subscribed to a bunch of blog feeds(like Digg and Technorati) and I think I did most of it.So I will try again when I have some more time. I have the twins for a couple of days.
One of them is hitting me on the head with a cushion. They should be asleep.
ReplyDeleteIf you look in permission you will see we both are administrators and have the same control...we are equal partners the way it's suppose to be.
ReplyDeleteI have tried to get a copy of the new Mel tape but so far I cannot steal it.But I have found the dialogue and will make a post of it.
ReplyDeleteYes, I remember submitting our name to a few search engines. And I did on SH too but I don't think the ones there are activated for some reason so I will try again.
ReplyDeleteHe punched her in the face on more than one occaision and broke her teeth on two of those occaisions.Once while she was holding the baby. On the tape he says something like,"Well, you know you deserved it."
ReplyDeleteSweetie you are going to have fun with the twins and I know Nana will enjoy them.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that we had to get all of them, I know I didn't do any of that....how is we getting visitors ? We have almost 2,000.
But I will tell you this...I'm not the blog owner...we are both equal just look in permissions, I would want it no other way.
When are you going to Vegas?
ReplyDeleteI really dislike the bastard.He knew what she wanted from him, she nothing to brag about, but she's too good for him, Robyn just gave him a bottle and shut her door.
ReplyDeleteWednesday morning, we may fly back ...but we are playing it by ear now.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to miss you sweetie.
Did you get your e-mail...sweetie tell me this, if you are not guilty, why run away.
ReplyDeleteWell they are right. I just tried to get to Starhooks on the internet and it comes up with no results. I tried Google, Bing and Yahoo and internet explorer,
ReplyDeleteLois just called me back, she was in the shower and said she had trouble at first because she wasn't putting the S at the end of the name and the dot between SH's and blogspot.
ReplyDeleteI will apply to Digg, Mixx it and Buzz up. They are the feeds I applyed to on FTBB
ReplyDeleteHow did you try to get there?? did you put in:
ReplyDeleteStarhooks.blogspot.com
I will have to go to help and see what they say. Our visitor count is climbing a little.
I didn't know all that...I want them to get here, I wonder why Lois isn't having trouble, I don't know if Nan has been there , but I think she has.
ReplyDeleteI was planning on going to one of those cysber-cafe's and leaving you a message or two.
I'm just a little disorganized tonight, getting drinks for people who SHOULD BE ASLEEP and are reading over my shoulder.
ReplyDeleteI have them all day tomorrow and the next day till four( if I'm still alive)
ReplyDeleteOh, fantastic! send me a message from Vegas. That would be such fun.I might be lucky for you. I seem to give people good luck.
ReplyDeleteSomeone helped himself to a popsicle and I don't care if he gets his bed all sticky. He will have to sleep in it.
ReplyDeleteIncoming mail
ReplyDeleteThe dog is missing. I haven't seen him in hours. I wonder if those brats have anything to do with it.Or maybe the poor thing is just hiding. It is hot as Hades up here. No wonder no one can sleep.
ReplyDeleteAin't you glad they can read?? Jill is still giving her daddy hell about the book, he told her he was sorry what can he do to make it up to her and she said gimmie some money, he gave her the change he had in his pocket , she looked at it and said she wanted money like you give my mama.
ReplyDeleteYou need the twins with you all the time, they are a joy..
ReplyDeletereading over your shoulder...no wonder I'm on my best behavior..HA !
Looks llike rain tomorrow. Great. They'll be in the house all day.
ReplyDeleteIncoming
ReplyDeleteI gave Mel Hell on my SH post. I am sick of that guy. I am no fan of Oksana but he is ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteI think Maxy is just hiding, the guys have played with him til he's tired out...I know Gill will hide from the girls and go to sleep, they wear his little butt out.
ReplyDeletePoor Gilly. I guess Maxy knows how he feels. I know Maxy doesn't like all the noise they make.
ReplyDeleteI guess you better take at least one sexy outfit to Vegas. A lot of the women there dress very sexy.Some are kind of cheap looking but some of them are very classy and well dressed.
ReplyDeleteNana and I went together the last time I went.We enjoyed our time together.
She is a real gambler. I just play at it. I gave her all my winnings so she could keep playing and I went to bed.
ReplyDeleteI am proud of you, you never is to hard on them , Mel deserves it. I will put my 2 cents in and I will not see any more of his movies...
ReplyDeleteNicholas cage is on Dave with red hair.
Incoming.
Boy I hope these two bums don't end up like the boy on this post.What a shame. It was hard for him to hide though. He is six ft 5 in.
ReplyDeleteI will to to be on my best behavior. My man has picked out 3 outfits he likes, one is split up the side.
ReplyDeleteINCOMING
What did Nana play???
ReplyDeleteI fault his mama for all his troubles, nowhere it's said she tried to help him, he has a great following on facebook over 68,000 I heard.
Are you going to the lake on the weekend ??? That's when your family will be their from Michigan.
ReplyDeleteI hope the weather be really nice.
I bet your friend the one that says I am a character couldn't stop laughing when she seen it, and asked you where in hell did you find me.[giggles]
ReplyDeleteNana likes roulette, blackjack and slots. I just played slots.
ReplyDeleteNext weekend we will be on the boat with Dale and Barb and Gary and Jan will be up from Detoit and staying at the lake with J&P. Gary's mom is up here right now. She is Aunty Bub's sister-in-law. she stays here for a few weeks at a time because she and Bubs are best friends.Gary and Jan love to go out on the boat.
I have told you so often that the nut don't fall far from the tree and if you plant a tree and the wind blows hard and it bends just put a stake by it to keep it straight . Look around at the people around you and you will see what I'm saying is true. All your kids is making something of themselves.
ReplyDeleteIncoming
Love Blackjack and I bet Nana can count cards...never had any luck at Roulette.
ReplyDeleteSo, GL likes to show off his sexy wife.It's like, see what I've got. You can look at it but don't touch. He enjoys other men's envy.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if she can count cards but she is damn lucky.And she always said I brought her luck.
ReplyDeleteI think I enjoy being a bitch sometime.
ReplyDeleteIncoming
I guess you like blackjack because it is fast and exciting and risky and you can count the cards....HA!
ReplyDeleteYou are Nana's little Genie.
ReplyDeleteYes he likes for me to dress nicely as he calls it, but I do show a lot of leg and one dress is open almost down to the butt in back...I'm glad he's not a prude, Betts asked him why he let me dress so sexy and he told her I don't look good in his pants.
Incoming
The boys are asleep and I think I'll sign Off and get a bit of rest.They are early risers.I will see if I can get The Karate KId from the video store.I have to take them to karate to morrow. I will come online for a while tomorrow. You won't want to stay up too late either.
ReplyDeleteVegas is a perfect little break for a busy mom.I will think about a name for our 'recipes and other good stuff' blog.
I sent you your last mail for tonight.
ReplyDeleteYes I will say goodnight and we will talk a little tomorrow .
ReplyDeleteIt's been great and we are on the same page as always and I know I will miss you.
Goodnite sweetie and may all your dreams come true.
GOODNITE...HUGS & KISSES...PIC
Kiss the Rock.
You have one more incoming...nite
Goodnight and God Bless. I hope you have a ball in Vegas.....Pleasant Dreams.. Luv.. PIC
ReplyDelete