OTTUMWA, Iowa — The trail of vehicles stolen from small airports across the Midwest now ends in Ottumwa, Iowa, about 40 miles southeast of the last incident.
The string of stolen vehicles, burglaries and thefts that stretches across six states beginning in Washington seems to point to Colton Harris-Moore, the notorious teen fugitive from Camano Island.
On Sunday a car stolen from Norfolk, Neb., was recovered in Pella, Iowa, officials said.
Police in Pella on Tuesday announced that there was a burglary at Classic Aviation about 3 p.m. Monday and a van and cash were stolen, according to a press release.
The stolen van was found this afternoon in Ottumwa, about a half-hour drive toward Illinois. Police there didn’t immediately return calls.
Officials said no suspects have been identified, but the crimes are similar to those linked previously to Harris-Moore.
The teenage serial burglar, 19, escaped from a group home near Seattle in April 2008. Since then, he’s suspected in dozens of burglaries and thefts, including planes, boats and luxury cars.
A crime spree beginning June 1 through Oregon, Idaho, South Dakota, Nebraska and now Iowa has raised suspicions that Harris-Moore is on a summer cross country trip.
Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437, jholtz@heraldnet.com.
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