Colton Harris-Moore

Published On:Thursday, July 08, 2010

By MEGAN REYNOLDS

Tribune Staff Reporter

mreynolds@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIAN police say they are determined to be the ones to catch the elusive "Barefoot Bandit" who has been outwitting the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other US law agencies for more than two years.

A fervent search for the runaway fugitive continued last night across the length and breadth of Abaco.

Colton Harris-Moore, 19, is thought to be hiding out on the island since landing a stolen plane Sunday afternoon near the highway and logging roads in shallow water wetlands near Sandy Point, on the southern tip of Great Abaco.

The FBI has posted a $10,000 reward for information leading to his capture, and detectives from the Criminal Detective Unit (CDU) have travelled to Abaco to help local police apprehend the teenager.

Assistant Superintendent Hulan Hanna said the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) wants to ensure when the runaway leaves the island, it is in the custody of US authorities.

Officers have been scouring pine forests and bushy areas across the island night and day, and handing out wanted posters appealing for information about the 6ft 5ins, 175lb, blue-eyed boy from Washington who is wanted for "shop-breaking and stealing" and is considered "armed and dangerous."

Harris-Moore, of Camano Island, has been on the run since April 2008 when he escaped from a juvenile half-way house in Renton, Washington, where he was being held for three years on a house burglary conviction.

The teenager is suspected of committing a string of burglaries and thefts of cars, aircraft and boats as well as credit card fraud in several states.

His fugitive lifestyle reminiscent of Leonardo DiCaprio's character in the Hollywood movie Catch Me If You Can has attracted international media attention and a fan club of more than 45,000 members on the social networking website Facebook.

He is now thought to have stolen a Cessna 400 Corvalis airplane - registration number 660BA - from the Monroe County Airport in Bloomington, Indiana, early Sunday morning and landed it near Sandy Point to continue his life on the run in the Bahama islands.

But Mr Hanna said the RBPF will not let him get away.

"We have every reason to believe he is still in Abaco," ASP Hanna said.

"We have taken steps to neutralise the areas he may try to use to leave the island, we have been talking to people on the ground, we have distributed fliers featuring his photo throughout the island, encouraging members of the public not to approach him, but to call us so we can arrest him.

"We are going throughout the island because we are not taking anything for granted."

Sandy Point residents have reported a burglary and car theft since the Cessna landed on Sunday, and Mr Hanna said the reported crimes are all under investigation.

However, police have remained tight-lipped on the investigation thus far to prevent spilling the details on covert operations and glorifying the Barefoot Bandit.

ASP Hanna said: "We are hearing he may have been involved in criminal activity since getting there and we cannot verify that, but we are investigating all claims.

"The nature of the investigation and the search is such that we don't want to bring any undue attention to him, or for him to feel as though he is being glorified by what we are doing, so the nature of what we are doing is largely covert.

"We don't want him to be in the Bahamas as a celebrity - we are trying to demystify - so when he leaves he leaves here in custody with the American law enforcement personnel.

"He has his fans. Some people are intrigued and fascinated by what he's doing, so it will be good for us to be the jurisdiction that takes him down."

Anyone with any information about Harris-Moore should call police on 919, 911, 322-3333, or call CDU on 367-2560, or Crime Stoppers anonymously on 328-TIPS (8477).