tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55432002770678712902024-03-13T06:06:29.048-07:00Outlaws & OutcastsWriter and photographer Bob Friel's blog about the outlaws, outcasts and all-around extraordinary characters he's met while chasing adventure stories around the world,
including the saga of Colton Harris-Moore, the "Barefoot Bandit."Bob Frielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010385089272057912noreply@blogger.comBlogger114125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543200277067871290.post-56470880483063506282017-04-05T01:42:00.000-07:002017-09-30T21:39:07.683-07:00MORE TEARS ALONG THE HIGHWAY OF TEARS
Very sad to hear of the passing of a friend I met while reporting on Canada's Highway of Tears.
Ray Michalko was a former RCMP officer who quit the force after getting transferred to Vancouver where the style of policing was a little too genteel for his tastes.
In The Vanishing, this is how I described meeting Ray for the first time:
I met Michalko one morning at an east side Bob Frielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010385089272057912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543200277067871290.post-16712067383348161172016-10-19T13:11:00.002-07:002016-10-19T13:11:58.633-07:00RCMP Admits They're Getting Nowhere on Highway of Tears
Ten years ago, under immense pressure from the communities along Canada's Highway 16, the RCMP created E-Pana, a special police unit dedicated to solving murders along this infamous stretch of British Columbia.
Locals say at least 50 women and young girls have gone missing or have been found murdered along what they began calling the Highway of Tears. The police sifted through those cases andBob Frielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010385089272057912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543200277067871290.post-10056912992050061032016-04-26T14:20:00.001-07:002016-04-26T14:30:07.046-07:00A Little Better News for the Barefoot Bandit. Plus: Big Discounts for You in the Freezer Section!
Colton Harris-Moore, retired airplane pirate and future
serial entrepreneur, is continuing his quest to raise the cash necessary to cryogenically
preserve his dying mother, Pam Kohler. Donations so far total only $2,115, but
the good news is that Colton has managed to reduce the amount needed for the procedure
from $308,000 to only $230,000 by recalculating fundraising costs and obtaining
a Bob Frielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010385089272057912noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543200277067871290.post-14543863246040208342016-04-13T15:32:00.000-07:002016-04-14T00:32:24.027-07:00BAD NEWS FOR THE BAREFOOT BANDIT
Colton
Harris-Moore has been in custody since July 11, 2010, when Bahamian police captured
him after shooting out the engines on his getaway boat during a nighttime chase.
In those 69 months, Colton has seen his mother, Pam Kohler, only twice, once in
a courtroom and once for a short prison visit.
It’s no secret that mother and son have had an often
turbulent relationship. The dingy trailerBob Frielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010385089272057912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543200277067871290.post-55844185084886684612016-04-11T22:13:00.001-07:002016-04-11T22:13:23.466-07:00
SKULLDUGGERY
It occurred to me that I might want to explain the macabre change
in my blog background.
No, I haven’t gone Goth (again), and it wasn’t
because we’ve just emerged from the rainiest, gloomiest Northwest winter in recorded
history (a new puppy in the house tends to keep you too busy for the blues).
The original background image for Outlaws & Outcasts was
simply the Bob Frielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010385089272057912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543200277067871290.post-38880404508328696632015-12-16T18:54:00.000-08:002016-04-13T15:33:05.256-07:00HIGHWAY OF TEARS UPDATE
After years of a whole lot of nothing happening to improve
conditions along a deadly stretch of Canada’s Yellowhead Highway, aka “16,” and
notoriously known as The Highway of Tears, it looks like there’s finally some
governmental action.
Depending on whose figures you go with—the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police or the First Nations’ officials and activists—there have been
between 18 and Bob Frielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010385089272057912noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543200277067871290.post-14217061852196767482015-11-24T12:04:00.001-08:002016-04-13T18:57:40.702-07:00
Latest Barefoot Bandit / Colton Harris-Moore “News”
Long time no write!
I didn’t want to comment on the latest spate of news stories
about Colton and 20th Century Fox, but since almost all of them have
factual errors, I figured I’d let you guys know the real story.
First, as anyone who read the book knows, Colton took five
planes, not three. And way more than one boat. Not that it’sBob Frielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010385089272057912noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543200277067871290.post-452245634350257362014-09-12T08:37:00.000-07:002014-09-12T08:37:04.562-07:00SERIAL KILLER LEGEBOKOFF FOUND GUILTYAfter three months of trial; 93 witnesses for the prosecution; and three hours of chilling, remorseless testimony in his own defense that only succeeded in damning him as a heartless psychopath, Cody Alan Legebokoff has been found guilty of first-degree murder in the deaths of Loren Leslie, Jill Stuchenko, Cynthia Maas and Natasha Montgomery.
He is officially Canada's youngest serial killer.Bob Frielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010385089272057912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543200277067871290.post-81436620823033881762014-09-10T15:22:00.000-07:002014-09-10T15:22:38.450-07:00HIGHWAY OF TEARS SERIAL KILLER UPDATE
The trial of the young Canadian psychopath I first wrote about in my Highway of Tears story for Outside Magazine’s TheVanishing and for CBS 48 Hours, is finally over.
It’s been a bizarre, creepy and at times horrifying
event that began with Cody Legebokoff, 24, showing up in court looking like a corn-fed
version of Walter White from Breaking Bad, complete with shaved head and a Bob Frielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010385089272057912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543200277067871290.post-6129471335678465312014-03-11T14:24:00.000-07:002014-03-11T14:24:09.617-07:00SITTIN' ON DE DOCK OF EBAY...Just got a note from our friends helping man's best friends down in Raymond, Washington. Ebay said they had to rejigger the auction of a framed collection of Colton Harris-Moore's donation to Vetter's Animal Hospital along with the police lab reports, etc, so it complies with their charity designation.
You'll still find it under the mobster memorabilia, but for some reason, because they refiled Bob Frielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010385089272057912noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543200277067871290.post-18418899593674443542014-03-08T12:57:00.001-08:002016-03-22T09:28:52.497-07:00BAREFOOT BANDIT / COLTON HARRIS-MOORE MEMORABILIA
We’ve had
plaster casts of bare footprints left after a chase on Orcas Island. We’ve had
his mom trying to sell a confidential list of crime victims eligible for
restitution. We’ve even had former prison mates of Colton’s selling letters
written to him by his mom…
The latest
offering of Colton Harris-Memorabilia, however, is something different: It’s of
proven, police-sworn provenance Bob Frielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010385089272057912noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543200277067871290.post-28120161592872102042014-02-25T14:33:00.000-08:002014-02-25T14:33:15.978-08:00WILD LIFE
A Spirit Bear, or kermode, hunts salmon in a rainforest stream. Photo: Bob Friel
While I've been off the outlaw (and outcast) trail for a little while to work on a couple upcoming projects, I've also been able to get back to one of my first passions: wildlife and adventure photography. Along with my life-long fascination with sharks and whales, I dig lions and tigers and bears... and jaguars,Bob Frielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010385089272057912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543200277067871290.post-57972460634343632152013-04-12T09:43:00.000-07:002013-04-12T09:43:18.400-07:00HUFFPOST LIVEI'll be appearing on Huffpost Live -- today at 1:30 PM EST (10:30 AM PST) -- for a segment on "Criminals We Love." The panel will be discussing the Mountain Man of Utah, the Hermit of Maine, and Colton Harris-Moore our own Barefoot Bandit.
HuffPost Live "Criminals We Love"Bob Frielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010385089272057912noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543200277067871290.post-12373577523805536352013-02-26T11:25:00.001-08:002013-02-26T11:25:15.884-08:00Another Quick Colton Harris-Moore Update
According to San Juan County prosecutor Randy Gaylord, the
victims of the Anacortes plane theft (which Colton Harris-Moore pleaded guilty
to once but is now being charged with a second time by Skagit County) are
indeed already on the restitution list.
Says Gaylord: “The restitution order included $27,606.12 to Global Aerospace for repair of the 2008 Cirrus SR-22, N47LG (parts and labor)."
Bob Frielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010385089272057912noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543200277067871290.post-22200662106466881182013-02-26T09:20:00.000-08:002013-02-26T09:20:12.212-08:00LET'S PLAY DOUBLE JEOPARDY!
Answer: Colton Harris-Moore
Question: Who cannot be charged (again) for the theft of the
Cirrus SR22 from Anacortes airport?
Oops goes the prosecutor… Not only did the Barefoot Bandit
plead guilty to the federal crime of piloting the Anacortes Cirrus without an
airman’s cert, the charge was also a last-minute addition to the collection of
capers wrapped up in Colton’s Washington Bob Frielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010385089272057912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543200277067871290.post-24788372587855728442013-02-21T10:41:00.000-08:002013-02-21T10:42:22.933-08:00ANOTHER SHOE DROPS FOR BAREFOOT BANDIT
Almost three years to the day after a stolen plane nearly crashed the 2010 Winter Olympics, Colton Harris-Moore has been
charged with the crime. Well, re-charged…
On February 10, 2010, with security on both sides of the
Canadian/Washington State border supposedly on double-extra-super high alert for
the Vancouver Olympic games, a red-and-white Cirrus SR22 with the tail number
N47LG wasBob Frielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010385089272057912noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543200277067871290.post-38356973064443891442012-12-18T09:34:00.000-08:002012-12-18T09:54:23.976-08:00THE BAREFOOT BANDIT, NAUGHTY & NICE FOR THE HOLIDAYS
Just received this from my publisher in time for the first gifting season since The Barefoot Bandit was released, making it a cheap ($3 eBook and $10 hardcover!) stocking stuffer for the readers on your list:
We wanted to let you know that Hyperion has lowered the price of several of our key backlist ebook titles, including THE BAREFOOT BANDIT, for the holidays. These ebooks are Bob Frielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010385089272057912noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543200277067871290.post-86548640185567033112012-11-15T11:32:00.000-08:002012-11-15T11:32:02.046-08:00HIGHWAY OF TEARS TV
British Columbia's tragic tale of missing and murdered women along its "Highway of Tears" is getting its highest profile attention this Saturday when CBS 48 Hours airs a full hour on the story.
I've been working with the CBS team on this ever since my article on the highway, The Vanishing, appeared in Outside Magazine last summer. It's a tough topic with a lot of sadness and anger, especially Bob Frielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010385089272057912noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543200277067871290.post-30025114591011673972012-09-25T21:07:00.001-07:002012-09-26T02:49:03.024-07:00Major Success in Highway of Tears Serial Killer Case
Bobby Jack Fowler circa 1972
Good police work by the persistent Mounties in the Vancouver
forensics lab resulted in the oldest DNA offender hit in INTERPOL history and
the solving of a terrible crime that happened nearly 40 years ago.
According to RCMP Inspector Gary Shinkaruk who heads the
Special Projects Unit in Northern British Columbia, in July of 2007, technicians
were able to Bob Frielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010385089272057912noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543200277067871290.post-8747475018163814732012-09-25T11:04:00.000-07:002012-09-25T11:09:47.354-07:00American Named in Highway of Tears Serial Killer Case
Bobby Jack Fowler, an Oregon man who died in prison in 2006 while serving a 16-year sentence for kidnapping and attempted rape, was named as the killer behind a nearly 40-year-old cold case that's part of British Columbia's infamous Highway of Tears.
In August 1974, 16-year-old Colleen MacMillen left her home in Northern BC to go to a girlfriend's house. She walked out to the main road and Bob Frielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010385089272057912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543200277067871290.post-20183712171890043952012-08-06T16:54:00.000-07:002012-08-06T16:54:08.153-07:00BAREFOOT BANDIT Movie Update
This has been in the works for awhile now, but Robert Zemeckis and 20th Century Fox have officially come to an agreement for Zemeckis to get involved in the film adaptation of The Barefoot Bandit.
This still doesn't mean there's definitely going to be a movie, but involving an A-list director like Zemeckis -- Forrest Gump, Cast Away, Polar Express, and even a few movies without Tom Hanks, Bob Frielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010385089272057912noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543200277067871290.post-2459689735465811062012-07-05T10:49:00.000-07:002012-07-05T10:49:14.378-07:00More Highway of Tears on the Radio
Here's the interview I did with Canandian Broadcast Co North's morning show: CBC Daybreak North Show. It airs in all of the communities along the Yellowhead, aka, Highway 16, the Highway of Tears.
(BTW: The story appears in this month's Outside magazine, not Outdoor Magazine.)
Bob Frielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010385089272057912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543200277067871290.post-74317879632169537852012-07-03T11:39:00.001-07:002012-07-03T11:43:36.933-07:00HIGHWAY OF TEARS on the Air
Mention the phrase "serial killer" and you naturally get some attention.
I did a couple of media appearances in the last two days about "The Vanishing," my feature in the latest issue of Outside magazine that's about Canada's infamous Highway of Tears.
Yesterday, NPR's Ross Reynolds had me on his show, The Conversation. (Look for the Listen to the Show links to the right and pick one of the Bob Frielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010385089272057912noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543200277067871290.post-62597651237880784862012-06-13T09:07:00.000-07:002012-06-13T09:07:59.605-07:00TRAVELING THE HIGHWAY OF TEARS
In a remote and eerily beautiful region of British Columbia,
dozens of women and girls have gone missing or been found murdered. The only
connection between most of these unsolved cases is that they happened along a
desolate road the locals now call the Highway of Tears.
For my latest feature in OutsideMagazine, I traveled up and down this road, which is also known as Highway
16, Bob Frielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010385089272057912noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5543200277067871290.post-14947140712000861922012-05-09T17:38:00.002-07:002012-05-09T17:38:35.277-07:00A Well Read Colton Harris-MooreI was fortunate to get an invite to tape an episode of "Well Read" with Terry Tazioli. Taz (as I heard someone call him) is the host of this new PBS show that focuses, as you could guess, on books.
Well Read has an interesting format. Taz interviews an author for about 25 minutes, then spends the last five talking with Mary Ann Gwinn, the book editor for the Seattle Times, who offers a few "WellBob Frielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02010385089272057912noreply@blogger.com6