The Case of Colton Harris-Moore: Robin Hood or Robbing Hood?

We've got  this young, good-looking kid here in the Pacific Northwest who's gone bad.
However, in the process of turning outlaw, he's become famous.

His name is Coltin Harris-Moore. He's a teenager, 19 now, who escaped a group home in 2008. He's survived on his own ever since.... by breaking into homes, stealing food, vehicles, including boat and planes.
He doesn't have a pilot's license, by the way. He just figured out how to fly them.

Most people want  him caught because he's wreaking havoc on a fairly grand scale, yet noone has been able to catch him.
Others see him more like Robin Hood, than hoodlum, living off the rich because he's poor.
He's also nick-named, the "Barefoot Bandit."

It is alleged his family and friends know where here is and no one's talking.
I've heard radio interviews with his mom and she sounds very elusive, evasive.
Local police are stymied, SWAT teams have been out to no avail.
Even the national media has picked up the story and posted Colton's picture, which you'll see here.
The picture is one Colton took of himself with a camera he stole.
Click Here: Link to Time Magazine Article and Picture

I'm intrigued by the case. Not just because I am a P.I.
Also because I live in the boonies, in a remote, water-based community on the Kitsap Peninsula very close to Colton's Home turf.
Life here is not unlike Camano Island, where Colton hangs and commits many of  his crimes.
I have done many cases on Camano and know many people who live there.

That said, there's a unique approach being used to catch this kid now.
It involves a community meeting, an attorney, a well-respected bounty hunter and an anonymous donor who is willing to offer this kid big bucks for coming out of hiding.

Here's a link to the article about offers Colton's being made....
and the local Bounty Hunter spear-heading the efforts.
I believe today they upped the reward to 50k and that may not be in this article.
Go To: The Crook, the Bounty Hunter and the Deal

I'm not sure how I feel about this.
I do know whatever he is paid will go right back into his defense.
So if the kid is smart enough to fly a plane... maybe he's smart enough to figure out, he's busted the minute he steps forward.
And the money goes back into the justice system and not his pocket.

But then, how long will he really get behind bars?
In my humble opinion, what this kid needs is a group of powerful soldiers.... manly men... to surround, command, mentor, father and re-direct him. The US Military would be ideal.
Obviously Colton is great at evasive techniques: living off the land, infiltration, evasive maneuvers.
Avoiding capture.

Think about it:
Stealing, flying and landing a plane without lessons?  
And surviving a Pacific Northwest winter barefoot?
That's quite an accomplishment.
It's cold and wet out here.
Moss grows on the soles of our feet.

But there are also plenty of beach houses, that are abandoned winters and weekdays by city dwellers, who use these remote residences as second/vacation homes. I'm sure Colton found refuge in those.

I wonder... can this kid be saved?
Can his twisted talents be turned into a force for good?
Only time will tell.
One man told me last night, that they don't care if he's a kid.
If the shows up in their house, they will shoot him on sight.

People who live in the areas he is terrorizing are angry.
They don't see him as a hero. Rather, a target.
Shattering the Myth

Bottom line, I believe Colton will be shot.... or he will surrender.
I don't think there's grey space here.
If I were his mother, his friends... I would encourage him to step into the limelight now before his steps into a sniper's liner of fire.
What a waste of potential that would be.