GUILTY WA - Colton Harris-Moore - A criminal with a fan base of +18000

[jjenny]

Adnoid--Comparing yourself to Colton is like comparing apples to oranges. This young man is not a mentally healthy young man. Yes, it's very sad that his mother is doing nothing to help him. I am tremendously thankful that he was caught before he hurt himself or anyone else. He obviously needs a highly structured and supervised environment for his entire life. My guess is that he will never understand natural and logical circumstances nor punitive measures. Did you realize that this diagnosis has grown by almost 40% in the last few decades? It now affects approximately one out of every hundred children. The rates are even higher in the Northwest. It is already one of the greatest medical and societal struggles of the future. There is no cure. And I'll eat anybody's hat is Colton has not or is not diagnosed on the spectrum.

He most certainly does not have the same checks and balances that you do. If you have any family members or close friends with spectrum disorder, you'll understand fully what I'm talking about. This was not a game. This is not a bid for attention. This is the agony of watching someone with a lifelong mental disorder spin out of control.

There is no sport in the capture of a mentally ill person. All we need to be worrying about is safety. With all due respect, JMO.

Even assuming he actually has a spectrum disorder, there are plenty of people with spectrum disorders, who don't steal planes, cars, or break into houses.

 

[Indianagirl]

Adnoid--Comparing yourself to Colton is like comparing apples to oranges. This young man is not a mentally healthy young man. Yes, it's very sad that his mother is doing nothing to help him. I am tremendously thankful that he was caught before he hurt himself or anyone else. He obviously needs a highly structured and supervised environment for his entire life. My guess is that he will never understand natural and logical circumstances nor punitive measures. Did you realize that this diagnosis has grown by almost 40% in the last few decades? It now affects approximately one out of every hundred children. The rates are even higher in the Northwest. It is already one of the greatest medical and societal struggles of the future. There is no cure. And I'll eat anybody's hat is Colton has not or is not diagnosed on the spectrum.

He most certainly does not have the same checks and balances that you do. If you have any family members or close friends with spectrum disorder, you'll understand fully what I'm talking about. This was not a game. This is not a bid for attention. This is the agony of watching someone with a lifelong mental disorder spin out of control.

There is no sport in the capture of a mentally ill person. All we need to be worrying about is safety. With all due respect, JMO.

I just wanted to say that I, too, thought he wasn't seeking attention at first, but I changed my mind after he left that note with money at the animal shelter. If he wasn't seeking attention, why did he sign his name to the note? Why not just leave the money anonymously?

IMO in the beginning he wasn't seeking attention but after he learned he had a fan base, I believe that all changed.

I also have to admit, I do feel some pity for him. I believe he had a terrible childhood and that is what shaped him to be the way he is. It breaks my heart to think about a 7 year old child living in the woods to escape a bad home life.

I am in no way making excuses for him and feel he should be held accountable for what he has done, but after reading what his mom has said in different interviews, it's no wonder he turned out the way he did.

 

[Trino]

He certainly has left a trail of monetary damages. The tally must be in hundreds of thousands of dollars. How's this guy even going to begin payment?

 

[colette]

He certainly has left a trail of monetary damages. The tally must be in hundreds of thousands of dollars. How's this guy even going to begin payment?

I heard 2 million in damages/loss on one TV report, it seems like a lot.

 

[Special K]

Is there any actual evidence that Colton is autistic? This is the first I've heard that speculation and I've been following the case fairly closely. It would surprise me, actually, since many of his exploits have demonstrated a highly refined "theory of mind", something that is challenging for most autistic folks. (More info here, for those who aren't psychology geeks: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_mind).

Something is definitely off with this kid, but my inner armchair psychologist leans more toward anti-social personality, or sociopath. It sounds like as a youngster he demonstrated a touch of ODD, maybe with ADD. Who knows? I know I'd love to get my hands on his case file.

It's really a fascinating story, and I think they caught him just in time. Between the international flight to the Bahamas and the apparently recent acquisition of a deadly weapon, Colton was starting to escalate, and it was only a matter of time before things got really dangerous, for him and for others.

That said, I'll be the first in line to watch his inevitable jail house interview tapes. (Maybe he can cut a deal to donate the proceeds to that animal shelter where he dropped off the $100.)

 

[Missizzy]

I'm strictly going by the biography on the Wiki article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colton_Harris-Moore

There's drug use by the father, drinking by the mom, the comment about being disconnected, breaking things, stripping his clothes off, going barefoot, being high functioning in some areas (like flying a plane) and lower functioning in others (like reason), fascination with lasers, being born in the northwest, high pain threshold, lack of fear, and the fact that he's extremely good at being stealthy. Just for a start. Oh, and he's also handsome and tall.

I've worked with kids on the spectrum for over 35 years and have at least two (three others with a probable diagnosis) of our special needs children have some level of spectrum disorder. I might be all wet but what I'm hearing through forums involved with children with autism, it's sounding very plausible. The spectrum is massive and includes all sorts of personalities, abilities and disorders.

Whatever the "official" diagnosis is, I'm just very relieved he's been caught.

 

[laura08]

Seriously? I don't think stealing others property and/or destroying it is the way to go about attaining one's dream. There are legitimate ways of attaining one's dreams and breaking your mother's heart is not one of them. This kid could easily end up dead the way he is going. I don't see this is a cool thing. I understand the interest in his story - how he is able to keep escaping. Escape is something I'm good at so I get this. But purposefully creating the situation you have to escape from makes no sense. I just think his apparent skills and intelligence could be put to much better use.

I never said stealing others property and destroying it was the way to attaining a dream. I said it sounded like he had a dream and went for it, based on his plane pictures the artwork he drew when he was younger. Learning to fly himself. He seemed to be interested in planes very young. And I am not saying it is okay to go and steal others planes or anything from anyone. I'm just trying to think into his mindset as to why he did the things he did, like what triggered him to do it.

 

[Missizzy]

This is exactly why I thank God that there's something called Burning Man every year. The extremely brilliant eccentric souls out there can do all sorts of fabulous and risky things and none of us who choose to not pay attention, are none the wiser. What we don't know won't hurt us.

All this from a mother of a middle aged man who drives a Simon Duplex (huge) crane out to the Black Rock desert for a month, helps to design and build a temple, and then serves as one of the burn guys. Trust me, living with him in "proper society" was not a walk in the park. He's my eldest and is surely on the spectrum. He road his bicycle from San Francisco to Austin when he was 15. He surely prepared me for the interesting and unique children who came my way. This year he gets to go sporting one less digit. I know he's secretly pleased. He's a tremendously gifted contractor and designer, bipolar (under control), has the same degenerative disease I do, but is a loving and tender husband, father, and son.

He's just a tad.....different.

 

[jjenny]

I'm strictly going by the biography on the Wiki article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colton_Harris-Moore

There's drug use by the father, drinking by the mom, the comment about being disconnected, breaking things, stripping his clothes off, going barefoot, being high functioning in some areas (like flying a plane) and lower functioning in others (like reason), fascination with lasers, being born in the northwest, high pain threshold, lack of fear, and the fact that he's extremely good at being stealthy. Just for a start. Oh, and he's also handsome and tall.

I've worked with kids on the spectrum for over 35 years and have at least two (three others with a probable diagnosis) of our special needs children have some level of spectrum disorder. I might be all wet but what I'm hearing through forums involved with children with autism, it's sounding very plausible. The spectrum is massive and includes all sorts of personalities, abilities and disorders.

Whatever the "official" diagnosis is, I'm just very relieved he's been caught.

Well since he is handsome and tall, then I guess it's all well and good.
Never mind that if he takes the planes he is obviously isn't going to file a flight plan. What if he were to collide with a commercial airliner? What if he were to crash land it in a populated area, like on top of someone's house? What then?

 

[Missizzy]

jjenny--My comment about him being tall and handsome plays into the spectrum theory. Do some research and I think you'll be shocked at how good looking many children and adults are who are on the spectrum. For some reason, and this is only my observation, I have found many males who are spectrum-y to be tall.

Of course it is horrifying to think that he's been flying without a flight plan. I black out for hours at a time and I've been known to try to take a car (I haven't driven in 6 years) and once dug under a locked gate in my nightgown. I also stood in the middle of a busy street partially unclothed and spent a night under a neighbor's bush with a raccoon while 7 S & R dogs failed to find me for 16 hours. Can't remember a thing about it. It's called a degenerative brain disorder. I bit the putty out of my husband this weekend after a one hour seizure. And then, I can come on-line and seem semi-lucid. Makes one humble and gives one a very dark sense of humor. My guess is that Colton remembers some things but not others. I have a feeling that he often just doesn't quite know why he does what he does.

I am tremendously relieved he's been stopped. Now we can get to the first issue at hand. Find out what is going on for this young man. Something is clearly not right.

 

[Indianagirl]

Guilty plea in 'Barefoot Bandit' case in Bahamas

NASSAU, Bahamas — The teenage thief dubbed the "Barefoot Bandit" by police pleaded guilty to a minor offense in the Bahamas and is expected to be deported soon to the United States.

Colton Harris-Moore pleaded guilty to a charge of illegal landing in his first court appearance in Nassau on Tuesday. If convicted, the charge carries a $300 fine or three months in jail, followed by deportation.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38226735/ns/world_news-americas/

 

[Indianagirl]

'Barefoot Bandit' Colton Harris-Moore suspect 'eloquent,' 'intelligent,' police commissioner says

***snip***
Greenslade was complimentary of Harris-Moore despite the manhunt that ended with police shooting out the outboard engine on a motorboat off Eleuthera island. "He's very eloquent, obviously a very intelligent young man," Greenslade said.

***snip***
From the moment of his capture, Greenslade said Harris-Moore has been calm and cooperative. "He gave us no trouble at all at the moment he was arrested," Greenslade said.

http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-n...foot_bandit_suspect_eloquent_intelligent.html

 

[gitana1]

Even assuming he actually has a spectrum disorder, there are plenty of people with spectrum disorders, who don't steal planes, cars, or break into houses.

I would say most.

 

[gitana1]

jjenny--My comment about him being tall and handsome plays into the spectrum theory. Do some research and I think you'll be shocked at how good looking many children and adults are who are on the spectrum. For some reason, and this is only my observation, I have found many males who are spectrum-y to be tall.

Of course it is horrifying to think that he's been flying without a flight plan. I black out for hours at a time and I've been known to try to take a car (I haven't driven in 6 years) and once dug under a locked gate in my nightgown. I also stood in the middle of a busy street partially unclothed and spent a night under a neighbor's bush with a raccoon while 7 S & R dogs failed to find me for 16 hours. Can't remember a thing about it. It's called a degenerative brain disorder. I bit the putty out of my husband this weekend after a one hour seizure. And then, I can come on-line and seem semi-lucid. Makes one humble and gives one a very dark sense of humor. My guess is that Colton remembers some things but not others. I have a feeling that he often just doesn't quite know why he does what he does.

I am tremendously relieved he's been stopped. Now we can get to the first issue at hand. Find out what is going on for this young man. Something is clearly not right.

I have noticed that many many kids on the spectrum are good looking. Strange,
That aside, this kid shows no signs to me of not knowing what he is doing, blacking out or being unable to control himself, whether he is on the spectrum or not. I just do not think that's an excuse.
He sent mocking pictures to LE. He painted mocking foot prints in a store he robbed. He was well-connected to the internet during his years on the run and to his supporters, which shows a level of socialization. He had the wherewithal to throw his computer into the water, likely to hide the fact that mama and/or others have been assisting him. He's smart and he knows what's up. Social deviancy, a hatred of authority, these are signs of a criminal mind. Had he had a mother who tried to get him to do the right thing and who guided him, instead of praising him for his criminal behavior, who knows to what heights he would have reached.
I am not buying the mental illness or neurological disorder excuse here. His ability to keep from being caught all the while continuing to commit crimes and to survive all this times shows, IMO, that this guy was in full command of his faculties. When you read about wandering spectrum kids, they usually are seriously scared, dehydrated, starving, when found because they lack skills to know how to get what they need. I just don't see that here.

 

[Missizzy]

You certainly might be right, Gitana, but my son's IQ is 159 and he didn't speak a single word until age 3 and then it was a fully articulated and detailed sentence. He never said Momma or Dadda. He never read children's books but taught himself to read at age 4 with Moby Dick. He never played, except with Lego and that wasn't really play--it was super intense. He was a master at disappearing. He wanted nothing more than to live on his own in the wild or the desert. As a child he was so wily at breaking into places, he delighted in breaking into police cars. He had to be taught to make eye contact, how to hug, how to touch, and how to fit in. Even as a nursing baby, he couldn't bear to touch my skin. He often ate meals outside when older as he couldn't bear to hear people chew. Now, he's tall, handsome, fabulously bright, wickedly funny and has matured to such a degree that he now knows what he has to do to be socially accepted. For some reason, he chose that path. He fell in love, married and now has a family. I wouldn't have believed this could have happened in a million years. His 10th anniversary is coming up. He's quite social and has amazing coping skills and empathy. All this was taught through a lot of hard work and through self-dedication. There's a great book which helped us, "The Out of Sync Child" by Carol Kranowitz. Most people probably think he's just a wee bit eccentric but they have no idea what it took to get through to age 35. I am very very proud of him.

You are right, our son has a family who fought hard for his health and normalcy. Colton's mother is making life far harder for her son by trivializing his problems. Left to his own devices, I'm afraid, our son would have been very much like Colton. Upthread, I posted a link to a Wiki article which lists famous people who are thought to be on the spectrum. It's really eye-opening.

And the "trickster" component? In my opinion, quite common. Almost a taunting of authority. As always, JMO. Now that Colton is safe and society is safe from Colton, I'm going to really enjoy learning about what is going on with this young man.

 

[jjenny]

'Barefoot Bandit' Colton Harris-Moore suspect 'eloquent,' 'intelligent,' police commissioner says

***snip***
Greenslade was complimentary of Harris-Moore despite the manhunt that ended with police shooting out the outboard engine on a motorboat off Eleuthera island. "He's very eloquent, obviously a very intelligent young man," Greenslade said.

***snip***
From the moment of his capture, Greenslade said Harris-Moore has been calm and cooperative. "He gave us no trouble at all at the moment he was arrested," Greenslade said.

http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-n...foot_bandit_suspect_eloquent_intelligent.html

No trouble? Well they better not turn their back because I think he is trying to lure them into false sense of security.

 

[Missizzy]

jjenny--You have NO idea how right on you are!!

 

[OneLostGrl]

Is there any actual evidence that Colton is autistic? This is the first I've heard that speculation and I've been following the case fairly closely. It would surprise me, actually, since many of his exploits have demonstrated a highly refined "theory of mind", something that is challenging for most autistic folks. (More info here, for those who aren't psychology geeks: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_mind).

Something is definitely off with this kid, but my inner armchair psychologist leans more toward anti-social personality, or sociopath. It sounds like as a youngster he demonstrated a touch of ODD, maybe with ADD. Who knows? I know I'd love to get my hands on his case file.

It's really a fascinating story, and I think they caught him just in time. Between the international flight to the Bahamas and the apparently recent acquisition of a deadly weapon, Colton was starting to escalate, and it was only a matter of time before things got really dangerous, for him and for others.

That said, I'll be the first in line to watch his inevitable jail house interview tapes. (Maybe he can cut a deal to donate the proceeds to that animal shelter where he dropped off the $100.)

IMO this kid without a doubt in my mind suffers from a personality disorder of some sort.

(I was kinda sad for him when I heard he got caught)

 

[OneLostGrl]

jjenny--My comment about him being tall and handsome plays into the spectrum theory. Do some research and I think you'll be shocked at how good looking many children and adults are who are on the spectrum. For some reason, and this is only my observation, I have found many males who are spectrum-y to be tall.

Of course it is horrifying to think that he's been flying without a flight plan. I black out for hours at a time and I've been known to try to take a car (I haven't driven in 6 years) and once dug under a locked gate in my nightgown. I also stood in the middle of a busy street partially unclothed and spent a night under a neighbor's bush with a raccoon while 7 S & R dogs failed to find me for 16 hours. Can't remember a thing about it. It's called a degenerative brain disorder. I bit the putty out of my husband this weekend after a one hour seizure. And then, I can come on-line and seem semi-lucid. Makes one humble and gives one a very dark sense of humor. My guess is that Colton remembers some things but not others. I have a feeling that he often just doesn't quite know why he does what he does.

I am tremendously relieved he's been stopped. Now we can get to the first issue at hand. Find out what is going on for this young man. Something is clearly not right.

I dunno, I have Bipolar and I do the same thing.. wake up afterwords like "HUH??! what did I just do?!" (I think it's more dissociation than actual blacking out but that's just me) I think those behaviors are present with several disorders.

But I think this kid just did what he wanted to do cuz he knew he was screwed anyway.

ADD- I doubt anyone is gonna try to do anything for this kid but lock him up. It's the way our world seems to works these days- if they are bad ..throw 'em away.

 

[justthinkin]

I think Colton has Autistic Spectrum Disorder as well. He totally has a flat effect, and his eyes just look disconnected, kind of dead. He might also have some psychopathic traits, but probably not a full scale psychopath. But what do I know, maybe he's just a different brand of psychopath. He's definitely not normal, that's for sure, but he also doesn't strike me as being quite like Casey Anthony or Joran van der Sloot.:waitasec: It's a bit of a conundrum.