Barefoot Bandit Arrested in Bahamas After Two-Year-Long Search

he Barefoot Bandit, formally known as Colton Harris-Moore, was arrested on Sunday after a two-year-long search.
Barefoot Bandit Arrested in Bahamas After Two-Year-Long Search
7/11/2010
Updated:
7/11/2010
The Barefoot Bandit, formally known as Colton Harris-Moore, was arrested on Sunday after a two-year-long search and is currently being detained in a jail in the Bahamas.

The 19-year-old Barefoot Bandit suspect was caught on Harbour Island after a high-speed boat chase that began around 2 a.m., according to the Associated Press. The chase began after residents of the neighboring Eleuthera Island recognized Harris-Moore and called the police.

During the arrest, local police received support from Nassau police forces, which provided them with man power and police canines, Ellison Greenslade, commissioner of the Royal Bahamas Police Force, said at a news conference in Nassau on Sunday.

Shots were fired during the pursuit, Greenslade said, but did not reveal who fired them. The suspect tried to dispose of a handgun that he was carrying during the pursuit, he added.

An anonymous senior official of the Bahamas Police told the Associated Press that the suspect threw his gun in the water, and police fired at the suspect’s stolen boat in an attempt to disable the motor, according to AP.

Living up to his nickname, Harris-Moore was indeed barefoot when he was arrested by the Royal Bahamas Police Force. The suspect was flown to Nassau, the Bahamas’ capital city, under police escort.

In the week after he allegedly crashed a stolen plane in the Bahamas, Harris-Moore has been blamed for a slew of burglaries in the area, and will be prosecuted for these crimes before any U.S. extradition proceedings begin, Bahamian authorities said.

Harris-Moore garnered a reputation as a modern-day Robin Hood after committing such deeds as leaving $100 in cash at a veterinary clinic in Washington State with a note that read, “Drove by, had some extra cash. Please use this cash for the care of animals – Colton Harris-Moore,” according to Seattle’s Kiro TV.

At the time of writing, the barefoot bandit’s Facebook fan page had over 70,000 followers.