19-year-old serial criminal Colton Harris-Moore has been caught, in the Carribean. Finally. The 6-foot-five teen was dubbed the "Barefoot Burglar" during his two-year crime spree because of his habit of removing his shoes prior to break-ins, and sometimes leaving white chalk footprints as a calling card.
In the photo at left (courtesy of the Sounder newspaper of Orcas Island, WA) chalk drawings of bare feet are shown on the floor of a store he'd just hit.
"Colt" became an internet folk hero. He was an outdoor survivalist, a pilot and crasher of planes, a hot-wirer of cars, a pirate of boats, a stealer of other people's stuff, and a prolific amasser of Facebook fans (log in today and hear their lamentations, mostly "Busted, Bro!"). His momma has a book deal, and has retained a lawyer to handle their "entertainment interests."
The long arm of the law caught up with Colt this morning, just before dawn, as he tried to dock a boat he'd recently stolen at a tourist spot in the Bahamas:
Burglary victims in Eleuthera told The Associated Press on Saturday they had little doubt the lanky (…) 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.
Bahamas police catch 'Barefoot Bandit' (King 5 via Glenn Fleishmann)
