"Barefoot Bandit": Colton Harris-Moore Going from Bare Feet to Big Screen?
NEW YORK (CBS) Colton Harris-Moore, the "Barefoot Bandit," has much to contemplate in his Seattle jail cell, including who may play him in an upcoming film about his life on the run. The film studio 20th Century Fox is reportedly fast-tracking production on a movie about the no-longer-elusive 19-year-old.
PICTURES: Barefoot Bandit on the Run
Prosecutors have requested that Harris-Moore be jailed until trial, calling him, in court documents, an "extreme" flight risk and saying that he poses a danger to the community. He's expected to appear in court today for a procedural hearing on a charge stemming from the theft last fall of an airplane in Idaho.
Harris-Moore was arrested July 11th in the Bahamas, ending a two-and-a-half-year odyssey of eluding sheriff's deputies, the FBI and Homeland Security. He got his nickname after allegedly leaving more than three dozen footprints, drawn in chalk, on the floor of the Homegrown Market on Orcas Island, Wash. after burglarizing and vandalizing the store. Harris-Moore's bare footprints were reportedly discovered at numerous locations where he's accused of committing crimes.
Shortly after his arrest off Harbour island in the Bahamas, Harris-Moore was paraded before cameras - barefoot of course.
Harris-Moore is believed to have burglarized more than 100 homes in eight states and stolen at least a half dozen boats. But what made him an international curiosity is the fact that he taught himself how to fly and then allegedly stole five private planes, crash-landing three of them. Each time, authorities believe, Harris-Moore walked away uninjured.
On the fourth of July, Harris-Moore is believed to have pulled off his most daring achievement. Investigators say he stole a Cessna 400 from an airport outside of Bloomington, Indiana, and flew it more than 1,000 miles, eventually crash-landing the plane in a mangrove swamp off of Abaco Island in the Bahamas. A helicopter pilot who flew over the area said the watery landing was spectacular considering it was only the youth's fifth flight.
Harris-Moore reportedly then walked nearly two miles through the swamp, arriving at the tiny village of Sandy Point, where he allegedly broke into a gas station, taking a bottle of Gatorade and two bags of potato chips. He then reportedly stole a bicycle and broke into at least four other businesses, including a Salvation Army-style store, where police believe he got some fresh clothing.
Harris-Moore is in U.S. federal custody. Prosecutors across the country will be consulting on what charges he will face. Harris-Moore is being represented by one of the finest defense attorneys in Washington State, John Henry Browne. Few believe the case will ever go to trial. Browne has a reputation for being one of the shrewdest plea negotiators in the country.
Harris-Moore's mother, Pam Kohler, has hired an entertainment attorney to represent the family's interests in any upcoming movie. But it may be unlikely for the Harris-Moore family to profit from Colton's escapades.
"The Barefoot Bandit" will be featured on an upcoming episode of 48 HOURS | MYSTERY.
Complete 'Barefoot Bandit' Coverage on Crimesider.
Peter Van Sant is a correspondent for 48 HOURS | MYSTERY. Van Sant has reported on 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and the Virginia Tech shootings for 48 HOURS. His hour-long report on terrorists seizing and destroying a school in Beslan, Russia, won him both his fourth Emmy Award and the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award.