Possible sighting of 'barefoot bandit' reported in Bahamas

(News Today) - The teenage fugitive suspected of flying a stolen plane to the Bahamas over the weekend may have surfaced Wednesday night, authorities there said.

"We've had some sightings of the individual," said Glenn Miller, assistant commissioner of the Royal Bahamas Police Force.

Colton Harris-Moore, dubbed the "barefoot bandit," may have been seen Wednesday evening on Abaco Island, Miller said.

"An individual was spotted, white male, running in the bushes," Miller said. "We suspect it's him, and we advise him to turn himself in."

Harris-Moore, 19, has been linked to the theft of a single-engine plane Sunday at Monroe County Airport in Bloomington, Indiana.

Bruce Payton, the airport director, said a 2009 Cessna 400 Corvalis was reported missing from a locked hangar. He said the Coast Guard told the owner of the plane that an emergency location transmitter on the Cessna was sending out a beacon from the Bahamas.

The plane was found just off Abaco, Miller said, and investigators took evidence from the aircraft.

He also said police were looking into several reported thefts and break-ins reported in the area since the crash-landing.

Abaco Island has a population of approximately 15,000 to 20,000, Miller said. But he cautioned that it is "a huge land mass where someone can hide." The island, about 180 miles east of southern Florida, covers about 650 square miles. Abaco and Grand Bahamas are the northernmost islands in the chain.

Harris-Moore's years on the run began in Oregon and Washington, where he was linked to a series of home break-ins.

Over the past month, officials say he has moved eastward. Authorities believe he may have broken into airports in South Dakota and Nebraska. He also has been suspected of stealing several cars. A warrant for his arrest has been issued in Nebraska.

The FBI is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.

Source : CNN

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