COLTON HARRIS-MOORE HITS TWO YEARS

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Colton Harris-Moore escaped the Griffin Home two years ago today. Since then he’s suspected of stealing four airplanes and several boats, and breaking into dozens of homes and businesses. We believe he’s been back here on Orcas Island since February, and the island occasionally buzzes with a possible new sighting: He’s in a resort hot tub, in a vacant house eating popcorn, paddling a kayak down the coast, fleeing out the back door of a home with Federal agents in hot pursuit, leaving a bare footprint in the mud near a chicken coop…

High-tech helicopters have searched the island repeatedly, while camouflaged SWAT teams stalked the forests. Black government SUVs appear and disappear. Still, Colt remains at large, an irritant to islanders, a frustration to law enforcement, a symptom of a flawed system to some, a hero or anti-hero to others.

So what’s Colt doing on his second anniversary of false freedom? It’s another beautiful day here on Orcas. Many seem to think he’s in survivalist mode in the woods, others believe he has a secret network of safe houses. In reality, though, he’s probably hunkered down in a vacant cabin. If the electricity and satellite service were left on, maybe he’s watching TV. If they left a computer, he’s surfing the web.

How long will this go on, Colt? How will it end? Do you have a plan or is your only idea just surviving and staying out of jail?

Even though he personifies the elusive needle in a haystack, it seems inconceivable that he can remain a phantom moving through the woods, living in other people’s homes, stealing from small businesses, forever.
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