Colton Harris Moore (born March 22, 1991) is an American former fugitive. He was charged with the theft of hundreds of thousands of dollars in property, including several small aircraft, boats, and multiple cars, all committed while still a teenager. He fled to the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

on July 4, 2010, allegedly in a plane stolen from

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County, Indiana, Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside ...

. He was

indicted An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of an ...

on July 6, 2010, by a

U.S. Federal Court The federal judiciary of the United States is one of the three branches of the federal government of the United States organized under the United States Constitution and laws of the federal government. The U.S. federal judiciary consists primaril ...

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

, on charges of transporting another stolen aircraft in that state. Moore, still only 19, was arrested in

Harbour Island, Bahamas Harbour Island is an island and administrative district in the Bahamas and is located off the northeast coast of Eleuthera Island. It has a population of 1,762 (2010 census). Two days later, he was

extradited Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdi ...

from

Nassau, Bahamas Nassau ( ) is the capital and largest city of the Bahamas. With a population of 274,400 as of 2016, or just over 70% of the entire population of the Bahamas, Nassau is commonly defined as a primate city, dwarfing all other towns in the country. ...

, to

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, and transferred on July 21 to the

Federal Detention Center, SeaTac The Federal Detention Center, SeaTac (FDC SeaTac) is a prison operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. It is located in SeaTac, Washington, near the Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, south of downtown Seattle and north of Tacoma, west ...

in Washington. On December 16, 2011, Moore was sentenced to more than seven years in prison for dozens of consolidated charges brought against him from three different counties. On January 27, 2012, he was sentenced to six and a half years for related federal crimes. He became known as the "Barefoot Bandit" by reportedly committing some of his crimes

barefoot Barefoot is the state of not wearing any footwear. There are health benefits and some risks associated with going barefoot. Shoes, while they offer protection, can limit the flexibility, strength, and mobility of the foot and can lead to ...

, once leaving behind 39 chalk footprints and the word "c'ya!". Despite the widely reported nickname, officials said that he more often wore shoes. On September 28, 2016, Moore was released from prison on parole.

Background

Colton Harris Moore was born in

Mount Vernon, Washington Mount Vernon is the county seat of Skagit County, Washington, Skagit County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The population was 35,219 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is one of two principal cities of and include ...

and grew up in his mother's house on

Camano Island Camano Island is a large island in Possession Sound, a section of Puget Sound. It is part of Island County, Washington, and is located between Whidbey Island and the mainland (Snohomish County) by the Saratoga Passage to the west and Port Susan ...

. Neighbors said they made several calls to Child Protective Services, believing he was neglected or

abused Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...

. His father, Gordon, used drugs and was in prison while Moore was a toddler. When he was twelve years old, his father (who had recently been released) walked into the woods after an argument at a family barbecue, was subsequently arrested and not heard from again. According to his mother, Pamela Kohler, his stepfather died when he was about seven years old, and from the time Moore was in the first grade, she knew there was "something off about him" – "sort of a disconnection". He wouldn't listen to his teachers, started altercations at school, and would sometimes deliberately break things around the house. According to a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation, Moore said that his mother drank and became mean, breaking his possessions. He started living in the wild at the age of seven, and would break into vacation homes in the area, stealing blankets, food and water before disappearing into the forest for days. His first conviction for stolen property came at age 12, and by the time he was 13, he had three more. He has been diagnosed with depression,

attention deficit disorder Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise Development ...

and intermittent explosive disorder. Each conviction brought a 10-day stay in a detention center, or community service. His mother once said, "Every time he had anything any good, everyone thought he stole it. What does that do to a kid?" In 2003, police found a neighbor's camcorder in his home. Never before sentenced to more than a month, he fled a three-year sentence by walking out of a

halfway house A halfway house is an institute for people with criminal backgrounds or substance use disorder problems to learn (or relearn) the necessary skills to re-integrate into society and better support and care for themselves. As well as serving as a ...

in April 2008.

Suspected offenses

Moore is suspected of being responsible for approximately 100 thefts in Washington, Idaho, and Canada, including bicycles, automobiles,

light aircraft A light aircraft is an aircraft that has a maximum gross takeoff weight of or less.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 308. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. Light aircraft are used as utility aircraft c ...

, and speedboats. It is believed that he learned how to fly small planes by reading aircraft manuals, handbooks, watching a "''How to fly a small airplane''" DVD, and playing

flight simulator A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and the environment in which it flies, for pilot training, design, or other purposes. It includes replicating the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they rea ...

computer games. One plane he stole was a

Cessna 182 The Cessna 182 Skylane is an American four-seat, single-engined light airplane built by Cessna of Wichita, Kansas. It has the option of adding two child seats in the baggage area. Introduced in 1956, the 182 has been produced in a ...

, FAA registration number N24658, belonging to then

KZOK-FM KZOK-FM (102.5 MHz) is a commercial radio station located in Seattle, Washington. It airs a classic rock radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. KZOK's transmitter is located near Issaquah, Washington, on Tiger Mountain, and operates fr ...

radio personality A radio personality (American English) or radio presenter (British English) is a person who has an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality who hosts a radio show is also known as a radio host, and in India and Pakistan as a rad ...

Bob Rivers Robert Rivers (born July 7, 1956 in Branford, Connecticut) is a retired American rock and roll radio on-air personality in the Pacific Northwest, as well as a prolific producer and songwriter of parody songs, most famous for his Christmas song ...

, valued at over $150,000. The plane was later recovered from a

Yakama Indian Reservation The Yakama Indian Reservation (spelled Yakima until 1994) is a Native American reservation in Washington state of the federally recognized tribe known as the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. The tribe is made up of Klikitat, ...

crash site. Though badly damaged, it was rebuilt and is in Florida. According to local sheriffs, Moore would often slip into a home just to soak in a hot bath or steal ice cream from the freezer. While his thefts would escalate to increasing value in cash and property, he initially would steal only what he needed for living in the woods as a survivalist. Once, he allegedly used a homeowner's computer and credit card to order bear mace and a pair of $6,500

night vision goggles A night-vision device (NVD), also known as a night optical/observation device (NOD), night-vision goggle (NVG), is an optoelectronic device that allows visualization of images in low levels of light, improving the user's night vision. The dev ...

. On May 30, 2010, police found a handwritten note and $100 at a veterinary clinic in

Raymond, Washington Raymond is a city in Pacific County, Washington, United States. The population was 2,882 at the 2010 census. The 2020 census showed the population of 3,081, an increase of 6.4%. The town's economy has traditionally been based on logging and fish ...

, approximately southwest of Seattle. The note read: In late June 2010, Moore was suspected of vehicle thefts stretching as far east as Illinois. The trail of suspected thefts attributed to him passes through Idaho, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, and Illinois. Police found a 2008 white

Toyota Sequoia The Toyota Sequoia is a full-size SUV manufactured by Toyota mainly for the North American market since 2000 for the 2001 model year and derived from the Tundra pickup truck. It is the largest SUV ever produced under the Toyota brand, after th ...

Norfolk, Nebraska Norfolk ( or ) is a city in Madison County, Nebraska, United States, 113 miles northwest of Omaha and 83 miles west of Sioux City at the intersection of U.S. Routes 81 and 275. The population was 24,210 at the 2010 census, making it the nint ...

, which was reported stolen in

Yankton, South Dakota Yankton is a city in and the county seat of Yankton County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 15,411 at the 2020 census, and it is the principal city of the Yankton Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes the entirety of Y ...

. Later that day, several burglaries were reported at

Karl Stefan Memorial Airport Norfolk Regional Airport (Karl Stefan Memorial Field) is four miles southwest of Norfolk, in Madison County, Nebraska. The airport is named for Karl Stefan, a local newspaper editor and radio announcer who served several terms in the United Sta ...

, located south of where the SUV was abandoned. A truck owned by the town of

Ottumwa, Iowa Ottumwa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Wapello County, Iowa, United States. The population was 25,529 at the time of the 2020 U.S. Census. Located in the state's southeastern section, the city is split into northern and southern halves b ...

, was later recovered in

Dallas City, Illinois Dallas City is a city in Hancock and Henderson counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population in 2020 stands at an estimate of 805, a decline from the 2010 census of 945, which was a decline from 1,055 in 2000. The Hancock County portion ...

. On July 4, 2010, a

Cessna 400 The Cessna 400, marketed as the Cessna TTx, is a single-engine, fixed-gear, low-wing general aviation aircraft built from composite materials by Cessna Aircraft. The Cessna 400 was originally built by Columbia Aircraft as the Columbia 400 un ...

single-engine plane was reported stolen from the

, airport. It was later found crashed in the shoreline waters of

Great Abaco Island Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

in the Bahamas, again leading to speculation that Moore was responsible. Shortly afterward, there were several break-ins reported across the island. On July 6, 2010, an

indictment An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a legal person, person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felony, felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concep ...

was released from a federal judge of the U.S. District Court of Western Washington, which was originally filed in December 2009. This indictment cites Moore for interstate transport of stolen property/airplane theft, related to a plane stolen from

Bonners Ferry, Idaho Bonners Ferry (Kutenai language: ʔaq̓anqmi) is the largest city and the county seat of Boundary County, Idaho, United States. The population was 2,543 at the 2010 census. History When gold was discovered in the East Kootenays of British ...

that crashed outside of

Granite Falls, Washington Granite Falls is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is located between the Pilchuck and Stillaguamish rivers in the western foothills of the Cascade Range, northeast of Lake Stevens and Marysville. The city is named for ...

. The

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

placed a $10,000 bounty for information leading to his arrest, and federal agents believed that he was responsible for the recent Indiana theft.

Capture

On July 11, 2010, Moore was captured just before dawn at

Eleuthera Eleuthera () refers both to a single island in the archipelagic state of The Commonwealth of the Bahamas and to its associated group of smaller islands. Eleuthera forms a part of the Great Bahama Bank. The island of Eleuthera incorporates the s ...

after recovering a 44-foot (13-meter) power boat stolen from a marina on

Great Abaco Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

. A police official said the suspect attempted to flee, but police shot out the engine on his stolen boat. Before being arrested, Moore threw his portable computer into the water and put a gun to his head, but the police talked him out of killing himself. He told the police that he intended to go to

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

to throw authorities off his trail and from there to the

Turks and Caicos Islands The Turks and Caicos Islands (abbreviated TCI; and ) are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands, two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and n ...

. His mother had hoped that he would flee to a country that did not have an

extradition Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdict ...

treaty with the United States. In March 2011, FBI Special Agent Fred Gutt confirmed the reward fund payout: "The $10,000 bounty money was paid out to people directly involved in (Moore's) capture." The reward money was split among Jordan Sackett, Capt. Ronald Billiot, Capt. Patrick Young, Capt. Ben Johnson and Kenny Strachan, a security guard at the Romora Bay Resort.

Criminal proceedings

Moore pleaded guilty on July 13, 2010, to

illegal entry Illegal entry is the act of foreign nationals arriving in or crossing the borders into a country in violation of its immigration law. Human smuggling is the practice of aiding people in crossing international borders for financial gain, often i ...

to the Bahamas and illegally landing a plane. He was sentenced to three months in jail or a $300 fine. His mother wired the money to the U.S. Embassy in Nassau, which in turn paid the fine. He was deported the same day via overnight commercial flight, accompanied by Bahamian authorities and United States agents of the FBI to

. On July 14, Moore appeared before

U.S. Magistrate In United States federal courts, magistrate judges are judges appointed to assist U.S. district court judges in the performance of their duties. Magistrate judges generally oversee first appearances of criminal defendants, set bail, and conduc ...

Robert Dube to determine his legal representation, which had been hired on his behalf by his mother. In a hearing on July 16, 2010, in the U.S. District Court of Southern Florida, Judge Dube ruled that Moore would be sent to

Washington state Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

to face charges there first because he was arrested under their warrant. Moore waived his right to an extradition hearing. He was held at the Federal Detention Center in Miami until July 21, when he was transferred by the

Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System The Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System (JPATS), nicknamed "Con Air", is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with the transportation of persons in legal custody among prisons, detention centers, courtho ...

to the Federal Detention Center in SeaTac, Washington. He was required to wear handcuffs and leg irons while being transported to Washington. A federal judge at the U.S. District Court of Western Washington in Seattle set a November 15 deadline for prosecutors to have Moore formally indicted by a federal

grand jury A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...

. However, Moore waived his right to a

speedy trial In criminal law, the right to a speedy trial is a human right under which it is asserted that a government prosecutor may not delay the trial of a criminal suspect arbitrarily and indefinitely. Otherwise, the power to impose such delays would eff ...

, permitting both the defense and the prosecution more time to prepare for the case. On November 18, 2010, Moore pleaded not guilty in federal court to charges of interstate transportation of a stolen plane, boat and gun, and of being a fugitive in possession of a firearm and flying a plane without a pilot's license. On September 30, 2010, Harley Davidson Ironwing, a self-described associate of Moore's burglaries, pleaded guilty to assault and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. On June 17, 2011, federal prosecutors recommended that Moore be sentenced to six years in prison. Moore pleaded guilty to all seven counts on the federal indictment. The Washington State Court, however, recommended that he be sentenced to 10 years in prison for a break-in and burglary near Granite Falls, Washington. At sentencing, prosecutors were expected to ask for a term of 9½ years, while Moore's attorneys, John Henry Browne and Emma Scanlan, were expected to ask for a 6-year term, citing psychiatric and mitigation reports describing his bleak childhood. On December 16, 2011, Moore was sentenced in Island County court to more than seven years in prison. Superior Court Judge Vickie Churchill stated, "This case is a tragedy in many ways, but it's a triumph of the human spirit in other ways." Describing Moore's childhood as a "mind numbing absence of hope," she stated the 20-year-old was genuinely remorseful for his crimes. Moore has said that he plans to spend his time in prison studying in preparation for applying to college in order to earn a degree in

aeronautical engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: Aeronautics, aeronautical engineering and Astronautics, astronautical engineering. A ...

. On January 27, 2012, Judge Richard Jones of Federal District Court in Seattle sentenced Moore to six and a half years in prison for his infamous international crime spree. During sentencing Moore addressed the court and U.S. Judge Richard Jones, saying that it is "no stretch of the imagination to say that I'm lucky to be alive." His federal sentence will be served jointly with state prison time. In July 2016, Moore was released on probation to a halfway house near Seattle. Moore has reportedly secured a job at his defense attorney's Seattle law firm, doing "low-level clerical work". His efforts to raise money via social media to fund flight school training were vetoed by his parole officer, who said any money raised must go toward the $129,000 in restitution that he owes his victims.

"Barefoot Bandit"

Moore became known as the "Barefoot Bandit" or as the "Barefoot Burglar", for reportedly committing some of his crimes while barefoot. In Fall 2009, police found footprints at an airport hangar in

; a Cessna 182 stolen from there crash-landed approximately to the west near

, after a few unsuccessful attempts to land at the small airport there. Police in the

San Juan Islands The San Juan Islands are an archipelago in the Pacific Northwest of the United States between the U.S. state of Washington and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The San Juan Islands are part of Washington state, and form the core of ...

also found cartoonish,

chalk outline A chalk outline is a temporary outline drawn on the ground outlining evidence at a crime scene. The outline provides context for photographs of the crime scene, and assists investigators in preserving the evidence. Modern investigators almost ne ...

s of feet drawn upon the floor of a grocery store that was broken into in February 2010. Moore became an

internet sensation Social and cultural phenomena specific to the Internet include Internet memes, such as popular themes, catchphrases, images, viral videos, and jokes. When such fads and sensations occur online, they tend to grow rapidly and become more widesp ...

with a

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

fan page drawing about 60,000 members. A local Seattle man started selling T-shirts bearing Moore's picture with the words "Momma Tried". Local people from Camano Island also attempted to vent their frustrations through a song, as well as a

blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...

which included the sale of merchandise and accepted donations to purchase the services of a

bounty hunter A bounty hunter is a private agent working for bail bonds who captures fugitives or criminals for a commission or bounty. The occupation, officially known as bail enforcement agent, or fugitive recovery agent, has traditionally operated outsid ...

. In April 2010,

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

purchased the film rights to the book ''The Barefoot Bandit: The True Tale of Colton Harris-Moore, New American Outlaw'', by Bob Friel. Moore's mother has retained celebrity lawyer Yale Lewis to seek control of entertainment interests related to her son. She has also hired

John Henry Browne John Henry Browne (born August 11, 1946) is an American criminal defense attorney practicing in Seattle, Washington. Browne is known for his zeal in defending his clients, his flair for garnering media attention, and for being known as the “ ...

to handle her son's criminal defense. Under a plea deal Moore agreed to forfeit any profits from selling publishing rights to his story. ''The Barefoot Bandit Documentary'' (which premiered at Friday Harbor Film Festival on November 7, 2014, filmmaker Carly Bodmer) explores the childhood and time that Moore spent evading the law. Pam Kohler (Colton's mother), the FBI, lawyer John Henry Browne, and a range of personalities from Moore's hometown to the Bahamas piece together why he did what he did. A 2014 Canadian documentary about Moore called ''Fly Colt Fly: Legend of the Barefoot Bandit'' was made by brothers Adam and Andrew Gray, showing how the mythic story evolved in the media and how Moore became a 21st century outlaw

folk hero A folk hero or national hero is a type of hero – real, fictional or mythological – with their name, personality and deeds embedded in the popular consciousness of a people, mentioned frequently in folk songs, folk tales and other folklore; an ...

. In December 2015, Moore began publishing a blog which has since been taken down. His stated intent was to break his long-standing silence, and to voice his support for presidential candidate

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

References

External links

Letter from Pamela A. Kohler, mother of Colton Harris-Moore
ndash; filed with

Island County, Washington Island County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 86,857. Its county seat is Coupeville, while its largest city is Oak Harbor. The county's name reflects the fact that it is compose ...

Court (June 27, 2007) ()
Letter from Sandra E. Puttnam, aunt of Colton Harris-Moore
ndash; filed with

Court (June 27, 2007) ()
Official site for ''Fly Colt Fly: Legend of the Barefoot Bandit'' documentary''Bob and the Barefoot Bandit''
- Snap Judgment #518, "Desperate Measures" (Audio story)
''THE BAREFOOT BANDIT: The True Tale of Colton Harris-Moore, New American Outlaw''
by Bob Friel (Book) {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris Moore, Colton 1991 births American escapees American outlaws American people convicted of burglary American people convicted of theft Fugitives Living people People extradited from the Bahamas People extradited to the United States People from Camano, Washington People from Mount Vernon, Washington Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government