Latest Joyride Skirted Olympic Airspace

A Cirrus SR22 that encroached on the airspace under a TFR for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver may be the work of a teenage serial vandal.  This is the latest of four aircraft burglaries in the Pacific Northwest attributed to 18-year-old Colton Harris-Moore, nicknamed the "Barefoot Bandit".

Sectional showing Olympic TFR

The SR22 was stolen from an airfield near Port Angeles, WA, late on Wednesday night and was "flying erratically" according to police reports.  The aircraft got attention when it approached the restricted airspace with no clearance and squawking the wrong transponder code.  Controllers did not pursue any action as the Cirrus dropped off their radar near airfield on Orcas Island Airport (KORS).

The aircraft was found at KORS, about 40 miles north of Port Angeles, with damage from a hard landing.  Harris-Moore does not have a pilots license or any record of formal training.  The Orcas Homegrown Market near the airstrip was also robbed late that night.  The thief left chalk outlines of footprints and scrawled "C-Ya" on the floor, adding to the suspicion that Harris-More was involved.

File Photo of Cirrus SR22

"It should be more about the apprehension of an adult felon criminal and not so much about everything else making this person into a Robin Hood or cult hero," said Island County Sheriff Mark Brown, expressing his concern over the teen's growing fame.

No charges have been filed against Harris-Moore for the aircraft thefts.  Police are continuing to gather evidence in all four cases to determine if they are indeed linked and, if so, whether the Barefoot Bandit was the culprit.

FMI: http://www.islandcounty.net/sheriff/