Author(s): Jackson Holtz

True Crime

Colton Harris-Moore. A teenage outlaw wanted in nine states for more than eighty crimes. For two years he outran authorities--often times barefoot. And every step of the way, a frenzied public cheered him on...

"The Barefoot Bandit" looked like a typical American teenage boy. But Colton Harris-Moore was something else: a disturbing neighborhood nuisance at the age of ten, a troubled felon at twelve, wanted at fifteen, and the subject of a cross-country and international fugitive manhunt by the time he could register to vote. He stole boats, luxury cars, laptops, credit cards, and planes, despite no formal flight training, then embarked on an astonishing two-year crime spree that crossed international borders, fueled a titillated media, and eluded law enforcement. A twenty-first century Billy the Kid, Harris-Moore hid in the woods and lived on candy bars, snack food, and at least one stolen organic blueberry pie. As his crime spree continued and his notoriety grew, he was celebrated online, on t-shirts, and on Web sites and a Facebook Fan Club. Only one thing was increasingly clear. Harris-Moore wasn't going to give himself up easily. His fans wouldn't have it any other way.

This is the Barefoot Bandit's life story--his youth, his crimes, and his capture--the incredible true account of a digital-age wild child who may have run out of getaways, but found something much more valuable: a peculiar and very American brand of fame.

INCLUDES PHOTOGRAPHS