He Went East Why?

He went east why?

Well, let’s see. Colton Harris-Moore was unlikely to make it into Mexico or Canada without being spotted. So… how to get off the continent unnoticed… a boat or an airplane.

What kind of planes can he get into the air? Hmm… planes with ranges of about 900 to 1200 miles.

So… how far away is Marion County Indiana from the Bahamas? About 1200 miles.

What’s the range of the plane he just stole from there? 1200 to 1400 miles.

He went east. He broke into multiple small airports in the Midwest.

Oh, the Midwest. Within range of the Bahamas, the place his former public defender who created and manages the Colton Harris-Moore Legal Defense Fund quipped he should have gone to in a November 2009 Seattle Weekly article. Maybe she was joking. He’s not.

His mother certainly isn’t. She’s been telling the media that he should fly a plane out of the country and go someplace where they won’t extradite him. Funny how she said that while he seemed to be on a mission to do exactly that.

Harris-Moore got lucky and found a plane with a key in it because it was awaiting an oil change.

Now that plane has been found nose down in three feet of water off Great Abaco Island, homes and businesses have been broken into, and a car has been stolen.

There’s a rumor that someone with a shaved head was spotted on video surveillance.

Sound familiar?

Today the FBI announced that it is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to his arrest, and they’ve issued an arrest warrant for him in conjunction with a 2009 plane theft in Idaho.

The plane that was crash landed in Granite Falls.

Yes, Granite Falls, where a uniformed officer involved in a post-crash manhunt was shot at.

Harris-Moore had allegedly stolen a firearm from British Columbia by then, not to mention the firearm he may have taken from an Island County Sheriff deputy’s vehicle.

Granite Falls, where authorities found a campsite linking him to crimes in that area, British Columbia, and the San Juans.

British Columbia—meaning this case went international nine months ago.

The FBI has made it known that they want Harris-Moore. I’m not sure that the agent who was interviewed was working on the case, because he thought Harris-Moore had only been out of custody for a year.

But they are stepping up their game, thank goodness. And I hope people keep sending in tips, because I still believe that the best way to catch this kind of criminal is open communication between the citizens and authorities.

For all I know the FBI has been playing this low-key on purpose. Maybe they didn’t want to feed his ego. But in their statement today they said that Harris-Moore has gone from being a “regional nuisance” to an “international problem.”

I don’t expect their verbiage to be perfect. But Harris-Moore is far more than a nuisance. He’s a convicted felon who’s suspected in scores of burglaries, thefts, and other incidents. This case has been international for the better part of a year.

If only this would have been taken more seriously sooner. Many people don’t seem to take Harris-Moore’s crime spree seriously because of his age and appearance, or because he “hasn’t hurt anyone.”

If a disheveled 50 year-old meth addict escapee from a halfway house had committed these crimes, I doubt he’d have such a following. Based on his looks alone, people may think such a man is capable of violence. They would take his criminal history more seriously because of his age.

I’ve been saying this all along—guys like this escalate. They are dangerous when cornered. He could be a psychopath, and may well have psychological or medical problems that compound his antisocial thought processes.

This is how violent people are made. They get more and more daring and have less and less regard for others.

Despite that reckless disregard, his growing fan sites are gushing praise and adoration.

I wonder where many of these people will draw the line. Or will they? All other crimes aside, an unlicensed pilot flying any distance, especially one who has trouble landing, is a very dangerous person.

It’s been said over, and over, and over. Let’s hope he’s caught before he hurts or kills anyone. Pray that this ends peacefully, and immediately.

It’s clear that Harris-Moore’s hop to the tropics wasn’t a statement of retirement.

On behalf of crime victims in eight states and three countries— go FBI.

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FBI Seattle tip line: 206/622-0460

FBI Seattle email address: Seattle.fbi@ic.fbi.gov

Contact info. for Royal Bahamas Police Force:
http://www.royalbahamaspolice.org/contactus/contacting_us.php

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The Everett Herald has been doing the best job of reporting on this crime spree, but many sources should be acknowledged today since no one source has all of the information contained in this article. Normally all of the news sites are reporting the same things.

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20100706/NEWS01/707069922&news01ad=1

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/97865959.html (includes interview with FBI)

http://nassau.usembassy.gov/fbicolton.html

http://www.kirotv.com/download/2010/0706/24161174.pdf
This is the criminal complaint that the FBI just unsealed today.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2012293159_barefootbandit07m.html

http://www.seattleweekly.com/2009-11-25/news/cover-story-catch-me-if-you-camp/4

http://outlawsandoutcasts.blogspot.com/
This is the blog of the author who is writing a book on Harris-Moore, and Fox bought the movie rights to that book. I won’t endorse his website because he offers help to Harris-Moore, but I’m including it to give credit where credit is due. He has connections in the Bahamas, so has information that has yet to be reported elsewhere.

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Virtue is more to man than either water or fire. I have seen men die from treading on water and fire, but I have never seen a man die from treading the course of virtue. -Confucius, The Analects

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©2010 H. Hiatt/wildninja.wordpress.com. All articles/posts on this blog are copyrighted original material that may not be reproduced in part or whole in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission from H. Hiatt/wildninja.wordpress.com.