ORCAS ISLAND, Wash. – Authorities in western Washington say a break-in early Sunday at an Orcas Island hardware store may have been the work of 18-year-old Colton Harris-Moore. He's the teen some call the "barefoot bandit" because of footprints left behind at crime scenes.
Authorities in North Idaho suspect Moore in the theft of a $350,000 Cessna from the Boundary County Airport last October. The plane was later found ditched in the remote woods outside of Granite Falls, Washington.
The latest incident happened Sunday morning at about 5:30 a.m in Western Washington. There was a break-in at the Ace Hardware Store in Eastsound. When police arrived they found a broken window, but nothing was taken.
Police deployed a K-9 tracking unit and launched an air search, but they were unable to find a suspect.
"Investigators believe the initial scene evidence suggests Colton Harris-Moore to be the prime person of interest," San Juan County Sheriff Bill Cumming said in a news release.
Since he escaped from a halfway house in April 2008, 18-year-old Harris-Moore has been sought in scores of break-ins from North Idaho to Western Washington, and is suspected of stealing four small planes and crashing each one. He has garnered considerable media attention and was nicknamed the barefoot burglar after allegedly committing some break-ins without wearing shoes.
Authorities say he typically breaks into businesses or unoccupied vacation homes in the islands north of Seattle. Most recently, he is suspected of stealing a $650,000 private plane from Anacortes on Feb. 10. The plane was recovered in the mud the next morning on Orcas Island.
The Herald of Everett reported last week that the FBI doesn't consider Harris-Moore a grave threat.
"He's basically a local burglar, a local misguided kid," FBI Special Agent Fred Gutt said. "It makes for a good read but it's not viewed as a high-priority item for us."
