Catch Colton if You Can

(Left) DiCaprio and Abagnale; (right) Colton Harris-Moore.

What is the first thing you would think of a teenager who has robbed hundreds of houses, stolen a yacht and multiple planes? Because I think of Leonardo DiCaprio. Perhaps I have seen the movie Catch Me if You Can more than most. The movie was based on the true story of Frank Abagnale Jr., a check forger at the age of 17 who adopted multiple personas to travel freely and inconspicuously. And now a criminal has emerged, worthy of enough cultural praise to match Abagnale’s notoriety. The 19-year old, dubbed the ‘Barefoot Bandit’ for committing crimes without shoes, was first arrested at the age of 12, and escaped from a halfway house where he had been living two years ago, according to an AP report. The similarities are impossible to ignore for a fan (of the movie, not the crimes) like myself. For example, ‘bandit’ Colton Harris-Moore has been accused of burglary, as well as stealing planes and boats while attempting to flee from police. As DiCaprio portrayed, Abagnale committed fraud by impersonating a pilot to essentially steal numerous free plane rides by ‘deadheading’, forged checks to steal from Pan Am Airways, and crossed state and national borders to escape from the FBI. The ‘Barefoot Bandit’ has been convicted in nine US states, British Columbia and the Bahamas, while his counterpart traveled through dozens of countries and states during his spree. Abagnale fled from the FBI for five years, Harris-Moore, for two years. Both started at young ages and came from downtrodden families. However, I do hope Harris-Moore does not match Abagnale’s ability to escape once in custody, as Abagnale once fled from a taxiing plane at JFK airport to escape arrest. Although the ‘bandit’ does not match the “Catch Me” muse’s unlawful talent, his situation is attractive to several movie studios, and his mother seems eager to cash in on her son’s exploits. So we’ll have to wait and compare movies, but until then Harris-Moore’s story will continue to unfold as his extradition and subsequent trial in Washington begins.