EASTSOUND, Orcas Island – Officials are scouring the rugged west side of Orcas Island as new information has revealed that the elusive teen burglar Colton Harris-Moore may be hiding out there.
Snohomish County sheriff’s police dog teams, man-trackers from the Marysville Police Department, FBI agents, a U.S. Customs helicopter and other law enforcement teams have joined the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office in the hunt. They’ve been on the island searching for the fugitive since around 1:15 a.m. today, San Juan County Sheriff Bill Cumming said in a prepared statement.
Harris-Moore is “believed to be in a very isolated and very rugged area on the west side of the island where only a few homes are located,” Cumming said.
A police helicopters was seen circling Orcas where recent burglaries have led officials to believe Harris-Moore, who turns 19 next week, may be hiding out.
Cumming said the latest police activity is a result of the continuing investigation into recent burglaries on the island that officials have linked to Harris-Moore.
Harris-Moore has been on the lam since April 2008 when he escaped a halfway house in Renton where he was serving a 3-year sentence for burglaries on Camano Island. Since then, he’s suspected of stealing 5 private planes, two boats and luxury cars, and breaking into homes and businesses in Washington, Idaho and British Columbia.
If he’s responsible for all of the crimes he’s been connected to, the total value of property involved exceeds $1.5 million.
Attention has focused on Orcas since early February, when a plane stolen from Anacortes landed in the mud on the island. Hours later, someone broke into an organic grocery store stealing food and vandalizing the security system. The crimes led officials to openly speculate about Harris-Moore’s possible involvement.
The Snohomish County Auto Theft Task Force in October investigated a plane stolen from Idaho crashed near Granite Falls. The group’s commander, Lt. Brent Speyer, has refused to publicly connect that theft to Harris-Moore. Others in law enforcement have speculated the Camano teen was responsible.
The stolen plane found near Granite Falls was crash landed in a clearing bristled with stumps.
A massive police search near Granite Falls was triggered when somebody shot at a Snohomish County deputy who was in the woods investigating a burglary that occurred around the time of the plane crash.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
