Colton Harris-Moore, the barefoot boy bandit, outfoxes sheriffs
AliSilver sent me a link to this story and while it’s not political, I thought it was an interesting and strange story that I haven’t seen in the U.S. media.
In the forests and remote islands around Seattle, police are setting traps for a barefoot teenage outlaw who has eluded them for nearly two years.
Police say 18-year-old Colton Harris-Moore, whose escapades are turning him into a folk legend, is a one-man crime wave, responsible for 50 burglaries as well as stealing light aircraft, which he taught himself to fly from video games, and several speedboats.
He lives in the woods, shuns shoes and catches his own food. His only technological aid is a pair of thermal-imaging goggles to hunt at night and his weakness is pizzas, which he asks to be delivered at the edge of the woods.
For some Harris-Moore is a modern Butch Cassidy: a surprisingly agile 6ft 5in cat burglar who thanks his victims by leaving them notes and cheeky photographs of himself, which have sold for £300 on eBay.
Thousands subscribe to his Facebook page and his image appears on T-shirts with the logo “Fly, Colton, Fly!”. Local rock groups have penned songs about him.
December 7th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
This started my day with a smile ! Not that I condone stealing and ruining people’s property. There is something just so primitive and fun about this boy’s adventure . That the pizza guy can find him, but the police cannot……. ROFL! Also I guess US media is not covering it because it leaves a little egg on the sheriff’s face? It’s a little like Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, although I don’t know why..
Sage Reply:
December 7th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
I know what you mean. I don’t condone it either, but there is an element of humor to the whole thing. How embarrassing that the pizza delivery guy hooks up with him but he has eluded the police for 2 years.