Harris-Moore captured, leaves mark on Monroe Co.

Two years ago, 17-year-old Colton Harris-Moore eased a stolen Cessna 182 airplane off the tarmac of Orcas Island Airport and into the sky.

Since then, the now-19-year-old known as the “Barefoot Bandit” has been running from the law — leaving a trail of stolen property, sensational headlines and legions of fans in his wake.

About two weeks ago, Harris-Moore allegedly pried open hangar doors at Monroe County Airport and stole another Cessna airplane, this time a 400 model, said Monroe County Airport Manager Bruce Payton.

But little did Harris-Moore know it would be his last major theft.

The plane was found crashed 1,200 miles away in the shallow waters off the coast of the Bahamas.

Harris-Moore was apprehended about a week later by the Royal Bahamas Police Force after a high-speed boat chase.

On Tuesday, he was deported back to the United States, where he is being held in a federal jail, putting an apparent end to the teen outlaw’s crime spree.

Payton was left perplexed and upset after the plane was stolen from the airport over the Fourth of July weekend.

“The aircraft was locked inside a steel frame hangar, inside a 12-foot barbed wire security fence,” Payton said. “Millions of dollars were spent to try to prevent this situation from happening. We were the victim of a criminal. As a victim, it’s very frustrating.”

Payton said that the airport had recently taken extra steps to ensure the safety of its airplanes, after a car believed to have been stolen by Harris-Moore was recovered in Illinois.

“We had a hangar owners group meeting that Wednesday night,” he said. “I went as far as to contact the Aviation Association of Indiana and asked them to publish a bulletin to all airports in Indiana so that they were familiar with his M.O.”

But before becoming a suspect in at least 70 property crimes in eight states and Canada, Harris-Moore was a juvenile delinquent with a troubled upbringing in Camono Island, Wash.

He lived with his single mother, Pam Kohler, in a single-wide trailer. Kohler has said that Harris-Moore’s father left when he was a baby and that his stepfather died when Harris-Moore was 7.

In addition, Kohler has been known to have a drinking problem, based on the opinion of mental health experts who have worked with Harris-Moore.

According to The Seattle Times, neighbors had called Child Protective Services on more than one occasion, afraid that the teen was being neglected or abused.

After committing a series of thefts on Camono Island, Harris-Moore hid from the police for seven months in the dense forests of the Pacific Northwest and, when he got too cold, he would break in to empty vacation homes.

He was apprehended in February 2007 and served a year in the maximum security Green Hill School, before being transferred to the minimum security Griffin Home near Seattle.

In April 2008, he escaped from the home by climbing out of a window.

Harris-Moore then went on the run — stealing cars, boats and, most famously, small planes, despite having no formal flight training.

For two years he was the bane of various county police agencies, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the FBI.

As word spread of Harris-Moore’s exploits and reports surfaced claiming the young fugitive committed some of his crimes sans shoes, police and the media began calling him the “Barefoot Bandit” — and a modern-day folk hero was born.

Ballads were written, T-shirts were made and Facebook group pages were created. One such page has more than 80,000 members and is still growing.
However, not everyone admires Harris-Moore.

A Facebook page titled “Colton Harris-Moore is a douche” boasts almost 200 members who condemn the teen’s behavior.

But for his fans, even though the teen fugitive has been captured, the story continues.

“It’s not over yet,” one admirer posted on the largest Harris-Moore fan page. “Bust out, Colton. Come find me. I’ll be the Bonnie to your Clyde.”

— Jake New and Aliya Mood