Is Colton road tripping through the Midwest?

Colton Harris-Moore might have headed south through Oregon. Then east to Idaho, and on to South Dakota. He might be in Nebraska by now. Oh, wait, maybe Iowa.

In an incident with striking similarities to the story of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” media reported that a suspect vaguely fitting the description of Harris-Moore fled naked when the owners of a Yankton, S.D. home surprised him by returning from vacation on Friday.

Apparently, he had just taken a shower and was shaving his head.

It really was an indistinct description: white male around 6 feet tall.

Evidence suggested the man had been there several days.

Hisek explained that about a day and a half before the reported home invasion, a car was stolen from the Spearfish, S.D. airport and recovered at Yankton’s airport.

Jerry Hisek, Yankton’s assistant police chief, said, “I’m not confirming or denying that it was him (Harris- Moore).”

“We have some physical evidence that’s being analyzed at our state lab,” Hisek continued. He said it will take several days, but hopefully they will be able to verify whether the suspect is indeed Harris-Moore.

Harris-Moore or not, the person appears to have left quickly: Less than 24 hours later, a Toyota Sequoia was stolen about three miles east of town. It was recovered Sunday morning, in Norfolk, Neb. Later that day, burglaries were reported at the Karl Stefan Memorial Airport, about a mile away.

Several offices and an airport hanger had been pried into, but nothing seemed to be missing.

Was it Harris-Moore?

When it comes right down to it, speculation may travel farther than the 19 year old himself.

What police do know, according to Matthew Workman, police chief of Warrenton, Ore., is that a boat was stolen from Ilwaco, Wash., on June 1. It was ditched in a commercial marina in Warrenton, amidst fishing trawlers, where “it stood out like a sore thumb.”

Shortly after, a Hertz rental car was stolen from the terminal at Astoria Municipal Airport, which, Workman clarified, is actually in Warrenton, not Astoria. Police also found a 1972 Cessna that had a single pry mark on each of its locked doors, he said.

Workman said the car was later recovered in Dayton, Ore.; whomever it was appeared to simply be passing through Warrenton.

“We haven’t narrowed our suspects to any one person at all,” Workman said.

While he did acknowledge that the incidents’ pattern “fit” Harris-Moore, he said the young man only “came on our radar when we received a call from Island County officials, who said, ‘Hey, this sure looks like Harris Moore’” and offered to review any evidence in connection to the crimes.

Workman reiterated that the Warrenton police hadn’t pinned anything on Harris-Moore yet.

“All we’re doing is opening it up and sending some evidence to the jurisdiction up there (in Washington),” Workman said.

In Ilwaco, where the boat was stolen from, Police Chief Flint Wright was also uncertain about Harris-Moore’s involvement.

“It’s just speculation,” Wright said. “We have no evidence.”

Wright said there was a surveillance camera at the dock where the boat was stolen, but no images were recovered.

“It’s very vague,” he said. “Who knows who it was.”

Wright added that there were oddities that led some law enforcement and the media to think it might be Harris-Moore, but said he had “nothing concrete, and no comment, really.”

Wright was certain about one thing — “I hope it wasn’t him,” he said.

Workman expressed similar sentiments.

“It’d be a double-edged sword if we do ID him as a suspect,” he said.

Workman said he’d be happy to know it wasn’t someone local, but he’d rather not have Harris- Moore in the area.

But then, Thursday, the story of a handwritten note, signed by Harris Moore and left in Raymond, Wash., broke like a wave of “told you so.”

The note was left at an animal hospital in the small southwestern Washington town on either May 30 or 31, investigators determined, and it was proven authentic through fingerprints lifted from the paper.

“Drove by, had some extra cash,” the note read. “Please use this money for the care of animals — Colton Harris-Moore (AKA: “The Barefoot Bandit”) Camano Island, WA.”

Harris-Moore’s confirmed presence in Raymond a day or two before the boat was stolen from Ilwaco makes his involvement more plausible.

Quickly, though, the trail turned east.

McMinnville Municipal Airport is only a few miles from Dayton, where the Hertz car was abandoned. It’s also where Graham Goad’s office is, and where media reports note hot dogs went missing from — food was taken from his office fridge on two separate occasions.

Goad also reported that his Internet connection had been unplugged and his computer reset.

On June 9, a Cadillac Escalade was stolen from the Enterprise rental lot at the small airport. It was recovered the next day at the airport in Ontario, Ore., on the border of Idaho.

The Escalade wasn’t so much abandoned as swapped — a hanger at the Ontario airport had been broken into and a truck stolen. Police found it between Ontario and Boise, Idaho.

Captain Mark Alexander, with the Ontario Police department, wasn’t sure if Harris-Moore was connected to the incident.

“I just became aware of this possible connection today (Friday),” Alexander said. “I’m just doing some research and trying to contact other agencies to see if this could be connected.”

He did say, “It sounds like there’s a pretty good trail leading back to Washington.”

And that was it, until the South Dakota incident a few days later.

Captain Steven Hecker, with Norfolk Police, who recovered the Sequoia, said although initial reports from the Karl Stefan Memorial Airport in Norfolk said nothing was missing, a vehicle was reported stolen from there Monday morning.

Heckner said the 2008 Cadillac Escalade was recovered later yesterday in Pella, Iowa.

Like other law enforcement officials along the “trail,” Hecker said he can’t confirm or deny Harris- Moore’s possible involvement.

“I wasn’t familiar with the guy until yesterday,” Hecker said.

He learned of Harris- Moore when his office contacted Yankton officials to tell them the Sequoia had been recovered.

“They informed us of the possible connection,” Hecker said.

The Pella, Iowa, police department had no comment as of press time. A spokeswoman for the department said the investigation was still in “preliminary” stages and they had “no details” to release at this time.

Staff Reporter Jeremiah O’Hagan: 629-8066 ext. 125 or ohagan@scnews. com.