The Barefoot Bandit: The True Tale of Colton Harris-Moore, New American Outlaw

In a book that Nelson DeMille says "Will keep you on the edge of your seat," The Barefoot Bandit tells the riveting true story of Colton Harris-Moore, America’s twenty-first-century outlaw. (This ebook now includes 2016 updates.) Born into a poor family marred by alcohol abuse, Colt had the local sheriff after him before the age of ten. Colt survived by breaking into homes to forage for food, and learned to evade the police by melting into the Pacific Northwest wilds. As a teenager, he escalated to stealing cars, boats, and identities. An extensive manhunt finally caught Colt, but he escaped juvenile prison and fled to nearby Orcas Island, where he assured his place alongside outlaw legends such as D. B. Cooper by stealing an airplane without ever having a formal flight lesson. And that was just the beginning.As a resident of Orcas Island, author Bob Friel witnessed firsthand as local police, FBI agents, SWAT teams, and even Homeland Security Black Hawk helicopters pursued Colt around the island. Colt’s crime spree infuriated and terrified many locals, while others sympathized with the barefoot young criminal—the controversy tearing at the formerly quiet community. The story gained international fame, with Time calling Colt "America’s Most Wanted Teen" when he stole and crashed his third airplane. After more than two years on the run in the Northwest, Colt fled Orcas and began a spectacular cross-country trek. Bob Friel followed the Barefoot Bandit all the way to the Bahamas, where the chase finally ended in a hail of gunfire at 3 a.m. on a dark sea.Through his personal experiences and hundreds of interviews with witnesses, victims, local authorities, Colt’s family, and Colt himself, Friel gives readers an exclusive look at an outlaw legend. Set against the backdrop of the Pacific Northwest’s evergreen islands, where Internet millionaires coexist with survivalists and ex-hippies, this is a gripping, stranger-than-fiction tale about a neglected and troubled child who outfoxed the authorities, gained a cult following, and made the world take notice."I doubt if even the best fiction writer could create a character like Colton Harris-Moore. This is an incredible but true story. Bob Friel is a gifted reporter and a very fine writer."—Nelson DeMille, New York Times bestselling author of The Gold Coast and The Lion