"Barefoot Bandit" Colton Harris-Moore's Mother Sends a Message
NEW YORK (CBS) Sitting on the front steps of her rundown trailer in the woods of Camano Island, Wash., Pam Kohler, the mother of teenage fugitive Colton Harris-Moore, had a message for her wayward son: "Be careful, I love you and get in touch with John Henry Browne - please."
PICTURES: Great Escape Artist or Crook?
John Henry Browne, a well-known defense attorney from Seattle, has offered to represent Harris-Moore if and when he is apprehended. The "if" has turned into more of a "when" over the past 72 hours as police in South Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa have closed in on a man fitting the description and operating very much like Harris-Moore.
Last Friday, a homeowner walked in to his house and surprised a naked young man, who was described as being over 6 feet tall. The man escaped even though police surrounded the house and sent out bloodhounds and helicopters. Whoever that person was, he left a trail of stolen cars and airport break-ins in his wake.
Pam Kohler has watched her son evade authorities over the past two years and tried to explain herself to Peter Van Sant from CBS News' "48 Hours | Mystery" last week at her home. Responding to criticism that she has encouraged her son to keep running, Kohler said, "When the cops come and bother me that's when I think 'run Colton run, fly Colton fly.' I'm proud that he taught hisself how to fly."
Kohler said she worries about her son and what the end result of his flight from justice will be. "I just want to hug him," she said. "I'm proud that he can fly planes with no lessons. You're damn right I am."
She remembers Colton as a boy who loved animals - she claims he even had a pet spider - and always wanted to have his own airline, not just an airplane.
Colton, who does not even have a driver's license, has reportedly stolen four single engine planes and learned to fly them by watching an instructional DVD and playing video games. She showed off sketches he made of planes as a child.
There's one thing Kohler said she's adamant about - that if a movie is made about her son's life, she wants some input.
"If anyone profits from this thing it should be me and Colt," she said, adding that she intends to hire an "entertainment lawyer" by July 1.
Kohler says she spoke to her son as recently as three months ago and says, "He's living with friends. He has everything he needs."
MEDIAPICTURES: Great Escape Artist or Crook?