DNA evidence places suspect in area The shoeless Washington state teenager infamous for thefts of planes and automobiles across the United States has been tied to a summer burglary and auto theft in Cody.On Tuesday, Cody Police were told that DNA recovered from a vehicle stolen in Cody on June 13 matched that of Colton Harris-Moore's, a.k.a. the “Barefoot Bandit,” said a release from the police department.

Police say the DNA match ties the 19-year-old Harris-Moore to a burglary at High Country Roofing on Mountain View Drive, where an individual stole a vehicle from the business. The vehicle was recovered June 14 in Buffalo.

Harris-Moore currently faces a long list of possible criminal charges in various locations across the U.S. and Canada — meaning he may never be brought to Park County to face charges here.

Harris-Moore escaped from a Washington halfway house in 2008 and went on the run for two years. He's been tied to dozens of break-ins and burglaries across Washington, British Columbia and Idaho and is suspected of stealing at least five planes, a boat, and multiple cars.

Many of Harris-Moore's alleged crimes were reported to have been committed barefoot. He is suspected to have once taunted police by leaving chalk outlines of his feet at a burglarized grocery store.

Harris-Moore was apprehended in the Bahamas on July 11 following a high-speed boat chase; he reportedly had stolen a plane from Indiana to reach the Caribbean islands.

Assistant Cody Police Chief George Menig said the national notoriety of Harris-Moore made little difference in how the case was handled in Cody.

“It was a burglary and auto theft — we processed it as we would any crime scene or evidence,” Menig said. Similarly, he said there was little added significance to tying Harris-Moore to the crime.

“He's a criminal,” said Menig.

Noting the number of widespread law enforcement agencies that may have an interest in charging Harris-Moore, and the cost of moving him around, Menig said it may make the most sense for charges to be consolidated. Harris-Moore is currently in the custody of the FBI in Seattle, police said.

Menig said Cody Police officers had been following news accounts of Harris-Moore's alleged activities and knew “his path was heading our way” in June.

Menig said the June 13 burglary and vehicle theft matched Harris-Moore's method of operation in other crimes, cluing police in to his possible involvement. Menig praised the sharp attention to detail of responding officer John Harris and detective Ron Parduba.

Menig said officers recovered blood from the brake pedal of the vehicle when it was abandoned in Buffalo, indicating the thief was barefoot.

“I guess he didn't know that when you walk around Wyoming there's lots of things that can give you cuts,” he quipped.