Teen Bandit Colton Harris-Moore: Modern-Day Huckleberry Finn?

Sept. 24, 2009— -- As an alleged criminal, Colton Harris-Moore is pretty sloppy. But as an escape artist, he's positively stealth.

And he's only 18. Harris-Moore, who goes by the nickname "Colt," is a suspect in nearly 50 burglaries and thefts, including the jacking of two boats and two airplanes, authorities in two Washington state counties said.

"I scratch my head and ask, 'Why can't we catch this kid?'" Island County Undersheriff Kelly Mauck said.

Officials in Island and San Juan counties said they have evidence linking him to the alleged crimes in the form of DNA, fingerprints, eyewitnesses and surveillance videos.

"Colton Harris-Moore, in my opinion, is a horrible criminal," Mauck said of the alleged activity. "He's very good at evading capture, but he's a horrible criminal."

The teen has allegedly broken into hardware stores, homes, restaurants and ATMs, although he has had some trouble successfully pulling off the latter, according to authorities in this rural area of islands off the Washington mainland.

"We have always been very successful linking Colton Harris-Moore through evidence to the crimes he committed," Mauck said of the alleged crimes.

Harris-Moore, whom Mauck described as somewhat of a loner who had a tough life with his mother in a ramshackle trailer park on Camano Island, first became known to Island County authorities at the age of 11, when he began compiling his lengthy record.

He was nabbed for burglary in 2006 after officers, acting on a tip, found out he was holed up in someone else's house ordering pizza from a local restaurant. Working with the pizzeria, it was officers who made his next order and Harris-Moore was eventually sentenced to three years in a juvenile detention facility.

He lasted for about a year before escaping out a window from a "less secure facility" that typically houses juveniles nearing the end of their release, a source of frustration for Island County officials, Mauck said.

Officials are unsure exactly how much he has racked up in cash and stolen goods in the past two years, but said it's likely several thousands of dollars.

Mauck said the last burglary in which they suspect Harris-Moore occurred in July.