The Barefoot Bandit - The Story of Colton Harris Moore

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Ray William Johnson: True Story Podcast 8 min 1 speaker 8 chapters transcribed

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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.

Who is Colton Harris Moore?

Narrator 0:00

So this teenage kid, he commits so many crimes that he's about to run from police for years, steal a plane, and escape to another country. Now his name's Colton, and he's only 12, and his life sucks. He lives in a small trailer in the woods on a little island off the coast of Washington. And his mom is an addict, and so he mostly has to take care of himself.

What led Colton to commit crimes?

Narrator 0:21

So he spends most his days in the woods, alone, reading about airplanes, because one day he wants to be a pilot. Now eventually, he starts breaking into neighboring houses, stealing things, mostly food. But over time, he starts stealing other things, a laptop and credit cards. And interestingly, he often doesn't wear shoes for some reason. Like he does most of this barefoot. And so this barefoot kid is always in and out of trouble. And one day he doesn't show up for a mandatory court date and bam, the police start looking for him. And Colton learns they're looking for him and so he hides out in the woods for like six months. He finds vacation homes and he breaks into those and he sleeps there. Or he'll steal food and camping supplies and he'll sleep out in the forest.

How did Colton avoid capture by the police?

Narrator 1:07

But then eventually, boom, police catch him and they convict him and he's sentenced to three years in juvenile detention. And of course, Colton hates being locked up. He can't ever be a pilot while he's in detention. So a little over a year later, he sneaks out an unlocked window and he escapes.

What happened during Colton's juvenile detention?

Narrator 1:24

So now he's on the run again and he goes back to the area where he used to live and he starts sleeping in the woods and breaking into vacation homes again. So he's constantly on the move and stealing things like food and supplies and cars. And this goes on for months before finally police close in on him.

How did Colton continue his criminal activities?

Narrator 1:41

One day he's driving a Mercedes he had stolen and they spot him because he's driving like an asshole and they go to pull him over in a parking lot and he jumps out of the car while it's still moving and he takes off and runs into the woods. And so police search the car and they find a backpack he had stolen and a digital camera he had stolen and on that camera they find this selfie he took. Then Colton steals a boat and he drives it from his island to a different island. And on the new island, he breaks into all kinds of homes and businesses again, and he steals a bunch more . So this guy's been in and out of trouble for years at this point. He's like 16 or 17 years old at this time. And if you're like Ray, how could a teenager cause this much chaos?

Narrator 2:21

Like, wouldn't he want friends or like a girlfriend? What exactly is Colton getting out of all of this? Well, let me just say that this kid never had a chance at a normal life. Starting from when he was a little kid, his upbringing messed him up. And I'm not trying to invoke sympathy for him. I'm just saying that the home life he grew up in, the environment he grew up in, was an absolute disaster.

What was Colton's upbringing like?

Narrator 2:45

When he was a toddler, his dad was a drug addict. So he was raised mostly by his mom, who was apparently a raging alcoholic and was extremely neglectful to him. His neighbors later said they called Child Protective Services more than once because they believed that he was being abused or neglected. Child Protective Services actually showed up to his place 12 different times.

How did Colton's story gain media attention?

Narrator 3:08

One of those times, they actually even removed him from the home for a period of time. So yeah, all of this set his life up for an eventual disaster. That's why he was living in the woods and running around barefoot for so long as a kid. I mean, what else was he supposed to do? Anyway, so Colton is still out there and he's still on the run from police.

How did Colton attempt to fulfill his dream of becoming a pilot?

Narrator 3:28

And by now, his story is starting to catch on in the media. I mean, this teenage burglar who police can't seem to catch and he's starting to get a little reputation. But Colton, he isn't too worried about that. He's way too preoccupied with his lifelong dream of becoming a pilot. And during this time, he decides he's going to make that happen. So he goes and he breaks into a small airplane hangar and he steals a single propeller plane and he manages to get it running and he actually gets it in the air. Now, He has no formal flight training, only reading piloting manuals and watching instructional videos on his computer that he had stolen.