Newsmaker

'Barefoot Bandit' nabbed after 2 years as fugitive

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-07-12 10:17

James Major, who rents cars on Eleuthera opposite Harbour Island, said a witness on his side of the channel reported a sighting of Harris-Moore to police early Sunday. He said locals had been on the lookout since the fugitive was blamed for trying to steal four boats and breaking into two buildings at the ferry landing.

"He might have been dangerous to the public," Major said. "Everybody is glad he was caught."

Greenslade said the high-speed chase began around 2 am Sunday after police received tips from members of the public that the suspect was on Harbour Island.

The chase ended in the waters off the Romora Bay Resort & Marina on Harbour Island, where security director Kenneth Strachan reported seeing a young man running through the bush barefoot with a handgun, according to Anne Ward, who manages the property.

"When Kenny spotted him, he had a knapsack over his shoulder and a gun and he was yelling, 'They're going to kill me. They're going to kill me.' He was running up the dock," Ward said.

Ward said the fugitive ran back to the water and stole another boat but ran aground in the shallows, where police shot out his engine.

"At one point, the boy threw his computer in the water and put a gun to his head. He was going to kill himself. Police talked him out of it," Ward said.

Police declined to comment on whether Ward's account was accurate.

Harris-Moore is a skilled outdoorsman who honed his abilities growing up in the woods of Camano Island in Puget Sound about 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Seattle.

Harris-Moore's mother, Pam Kohler, has said that he had a troubled childhood. His first conviction, for possession of stolen property, came at age 12. Within a few months of turning 13, he had three more.

Kohler has defended her son, saying the allegations against him are exaggerated. She previously told the AP that she hoped he would flee to a country that doesn't have an extradition treaty with the United States.

Reached early Sunday at her Camano home, Kohler said she'd heard the news about the arrest but had no comment.

Victims of the crimes Harris-Moore is accused of were happy to see him in custody.

"These people that support him, they've never been violated by having him break into their homes or businesses," said Joni Fowler, manager of a cafe on Orcas Island north of Seattle where Harris-Moore is accused of taking as much as $1,500. "Just knowing he has a huge network of supporters makes me really worry about the state of this country."

Fowler said she hopes Harris-Moore's arrest and upcoming court appearances will pop his mystique and fame — "once everybody figures out he's no God."

Emily Langlie, a spokeswoman for the US Attorney's Office in Seattle, said that once Harris-Moore faces charges in the Bahamas, her office would seek to extradite him to Washington state and coordinate with local jurisdictions about how his case would proceed.

"There are obviously many jurisdictions that would like to prosecute him," she said.

Shauna Snyder, a private investigator on Whidbey Island near Camano, said she set up a legal defense fund for Harris-Moore at the request of his mother. She said that although she didn't know how much had been raised so far, the fund has been getting donations.