Authorities on Camano Island in Washington state suspect a one-man crime spree that's now spread to include the theft of two aircraft -- one of which resulted in an alleged 9/11 joy ride -- to be the product of an 18-year-old previously held at a minimum-security Renton juvenile facility from which he escaped. The Seattle Times quotes local authorities who call Colton Harris-Moore a "menace" and an "incredible liability to people's safety." Local sheriff Bill Cumming told the Times be believes the teen stole a Cessna 182 from an Orcas Island hangar last November , flying it east to a hard landing on the Yakama Indian Reservation. The Sept. 11 incident involved a new Cirrus SR22 allegedly stolen by the teen from Friday Harbor and flown to Orcas Island where it too was put down, hard, according to authorities. (At least one report suggests the boy read a flight manual and learned how to fly on the Internet.) The next night, when the Times says the teen was chased by a policeman on Orcas Island, authorities say the young man "laughed out loudly" when he realized he'd escaped. The teen is also suspected in multiple other thefts (including that of a boat) and local burglaries with some episodes caught on surveillance video. His mother has a slightly different opinion of the events.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/news/18-year-old-suspected-of-plane-thefts