The wily resourcefulness of a fugitive teenage thief was on display again on Thursday as he eluded an intensifying manhunt on a sparsely populated island in the Bahamas — while earning some grudging respect from locals.
Soldiers in camouflage uniforms and police armed with shotguns fanned out with German shepherds as the search for Colton Harris-Moore entered its fifth day on Great Abaco Island, where police believe he has been hiding out since ditching a stolen plane offshore. Authorities suspect the teen, dubbed the “Barefoot Bandit,” has been hiding in thick groves of trees and emerging at night to break into homes and shops and steal provisions.
“We are intensifying our search and we are going to be relentless until we catch him,” Assistant Police Commissioner Glenn Miller said.
As the 19-year-old continues to evade the island-wide dragnet, some of Abaco’s 16,000 residents have expressed the same admiration that Harris-Moore has won in the US during his two-year run from the law. Since escaping from a halfway house, he has become a folk hero of sorts, with escapes allegedly involving stolen cars, boats and airplanes.
“I tip my hat to the fellow,” said Clayton Sands, a 54-year-old Bahamian who, like nearly everyone else, has been following every twist in the case. “For him to duck and dodge the police in two countries at 19, that’s impressive.”
Wanted posters featuring the blue-eyed, 1.95m teen have been plastered across this one-stoplight sailing town, where tourists and locals debated prospects for the fugitive’s capture. A playful video circulating among islanders showed a footprint etched in the parking lot outside a Marsh Harbour government building.
“I don’t think they’re going to get him. He’s not going to come out in the daytime,” said Andrew Gates, 42, a heavy-equipment operator. “He’s a smart guy.”
The few people who have crossed paths with Harris-Moore say he does not seem nervous.
Bartender Colby Curry said the fugitive entered his sports bar on Tuesday evening, drank a locally made beer and left after five minutes. He said Harris-More was wearing a cap over a shaved head, and no shoes.
“He was really calm,” Curry said, who only realized it was the fugitive after police called the bar because Harris-Moore had been reported in the area. “He seemed like just a regular guy.”
Police and soldiers were patrolling the island’s coastlines and airports — potential escape routes — as investigators followed a trail of seven break-ins leading north from the mangrove-lined inlet where the Cessna was abandoned on Sunday in knee-deep water. The FBI has offered a US$10,000 reward for his capture, and the island chain’s government dispatched detectives from the capital, Nassau.
To his admirers, part of Harris-Moore’s appeal is that he’s not known for violence. However, the FBI’s wanted poster warns that he might possess stolen firearms and should be considered dangerous.
The latest caper began when Harris-Moore, who has no formal flight training, allegedly stole the single-engine Cessna from an airport in Bloomington, Indiana, and flew it to the Bahamas.
He earned the “Barefoot Bandit” nickname because he allegedly went shoeless for some of his crimes and left behind footprints.
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