Is the Teenaged, Airplane-Stealing 'Barefoot Bandit' in the Bahamas?
Let's say you were a 19-year-old suspected thief, part-time airplane hijacker and Facebook icon who just tore through the Pacific northwest and the upper midwest. Where do you go next? How about... the Bahamas?
Colton Harris-Moore, the "barefoot bandit" of internet legend, may have done exactly that. Harris-Moore, who escaped from a halfway house in 2008 and embarked on an apparently barefoot crime spree, may be the mysterious pilot who crashed a plane in the Bahamas and disappeared. The plane had been stolen from an airfield in Bloomington, Indiana—an airfield with a 10-foot barbed-wire fence and "coded access gates"—and the details of the crime "seemed to fit that of the pattern known as the Barefoot Bandit."
The 2009 Cessna 400 Corvalis was stolen over the weekend from the Monroe County Airport, the facility's manager, Bruce Payton said. It was unclear how the thief got into the airport, which has a 10-foot security fence with barbed wire and coded access gates.
U.S. authorities said the heist has similarities to other thefts attributed to 19-year-old Colton Harris-Moore, a Washington state teenager who has no formal flight training.
The teen got his nickname for allegedly committing crimes while shoeless. He is suspected of stealing cars and small airplanes to evade authorities since escaping from a halfway house near Seattle in 2008.
Authorities believe he has taken five planes, luxury cars and power boats.
Harris-Moore has a 44,000-fan Facebook page already filled with encouraging, erratically-spelled messages about his latest (possible) exploits. "Keep living the dream" is a common sentiment, as is "Can't wait for the movie." There is something undeniably appealing about this kid, huh? Until he kills somebody, basically.
Update: Because I am a total idiot, I wrote "Bermuda" where I meant "the Bahamas" (where Harris-Moore actually is). I've changed it. In my defense, it is, like, really hot out and I think I am getting dumber by the minute.