Who needs summer fiction when we have Colton Harris-Moore?
Posted on 21. Jul, 2010 by Jef in Curiosities
Catch him if you can. (They did, eventually.)
“Barefoot Bandit” Colton Harris-Moore is a folk-hero of sorts in some parts. Not so much here in Toronto — the 19-year-old’s arrest on July 11 after years on the run made little news here and even when, to seemingly little interest or discussion — but that’s our loss.
Harris-Moore, a nouveau outdoors-y version of Frank Abagnale Jr., makes for a great story. Check out Bob Friel’s January piece on the teen fugitive for Outside magazine. Friel’s uniquely comprehensive perspective is also appropriately fractured: he’s clearly enamoured by the kid, but also belongs to the sleepy island community that Harris-Moore ransacked at will while dodging the pigs.
WHEN YOU LOOK at the facts, it’s easy to understand why he’s garnered so much attention: His name is Colt, carrying the gunslinging resonance of the Wild West. He’s escaped a jail (albeit a baby jail) and evaded several sheriffs, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and even the FBI for 20 months. He’s underdogging it alone in the Northwest wilderness, yet he’s followed by bloggers and Facebookers worldwide, the modern equivalent of yesteryear’s sensationalized dime-novel hero. During his many close calls, the cops claim Colt has “vaporized,” “vanished,” and “ran like lightning.” When the posse does close in, he allegedly rustles luxury cars, boats, and even planes. And something no one’s mentioned is that one of his hideouts on Orcas Island, Madrona Point, is an honest-to-God, can’t-make-this-stuff-up ancient Indian burial ground. Hell yeah, this looks like the birth of an outlaw legend.
The feds have him, but can they hold him? Either way, can’t wait for the movie.
