Chasing the Barefoot Bandit

Harris-Moore became known as the "Barefoot Bandit" or as the "Barefoot Burglar", by reportedly committing some of his crimes while barefoot.In Fall 2009, police found footprints at an airport hangar in Bonners Ferry, Idaho; a Cessna 182 stolen from there crash-landed approximately 260 miles (420 km) to the west near Granite Falls, Washington, after a few unsuccessful attempts to land at the small airport there. Police in the San Juan Islands also found cartoonish, chalk-outlines of feet drawn upon the floor of a grocery store that was broken into in February 2010. Harris-Moore became an internet sensation with a Facebook fan page drawing about 60,000 members. A local Seattle man started selling T-shirts bearing Harris-Moore's picture with the words, "Momma Tried." Local people from Camano Island also attempted to vent their frustrations through a song, as well as a blog which included the sale of merchandise and accepted donations to purchase the services of a bounty hunter. In April 2010, 20th Century Fox purchased the film rights to the book Taking Flight: The Hunt for a Young Outlaw, based on a proposal by Bob Friel. Harris-Moore's mother has retained celebrity lawyer Yale Lewis to seek control of entertainment interests related to her son. She has also hired John Henry Browne to handle her son's criminal defense. Under a plea deal, Harris-Moore agreed to forfeit any profits from selling publishing rights to his story.