Kenneth ‘Kenny’ Strachan, the Romora Bay Resort & Marina security guard whose keen eyes and quick thinking helped Bahamian police nab Colton Harris-Moore, the folk hero fugitive known as the Barefoot Bandit, this week received a share of a $10,000 reward posted by the FBI.
The reward was split among five persons, including four men on visiting yachts at the Romora Bay Marina in Harbour Island. The harbour chase in the dark night was like a scene from an action movie. It began last July 11 when Strachan, on duty at the popular resort about 1 am, spotted the 6-foot-5 teen bandit running down the dock. At first thinking the young man was in trouble, Strachan moved toward him to assist, then realised who he was. He kept Harris-Moore in sight and talking to him from a distance as he dialed one number, then another, rounding up help, but in the minutes it took for help to arrive, Strachan thinks Harris-Moore realised he had been identified.
The teen sprinted, vanished into the bush, re-appeared for a minute at the edge of the dock and fled in a boat allegedly stolen from nearby. As police descended on the scene and other marina guests took off with authorities in one boat, Strachan jumped into a second with other officers. Together, the boats cornered Harris-Moore, blasting the engine of his latest ‘borrowed’ boat that he had used to spirited across the harbour with only a sliver of a moon for light.
It was the end of the line for the lanky fugitive who dodged law enforcement during nearly two years on the lam, stealing cars, planes and boats in three countries before being captured in The Bahamas. Posting episodes from his odyssey, he had thousands of fans on Facebook who followed his saga from initial escape from a juvenile detention center in Seattle to Canada, across the U.S. to Abaco in the northern Bahamas and finally to Harbour Island. By the time of his capture, he was exhausted, hungry, bug-bitten and weary of the struggle that had long since lost any hint of glamour. At one point, he was considered the most unlikely wanted man in America.
What was the end of a wild adventure for Harris-Moore is the start of a new chapter for Strachan. He plans to use his share of the FBI reward, $2,000, to visit an older sister in upstate New York and an aunt who lives in Manhattan. He has not seen his sister, who is American, since 1988. He is excited about the trip, but believes the recognition is more symbolic than the funds are substantial.
“I felt extremely happy and joyous to receive a hypothetical reward from the U.S. government,” said Strachan in an exclusive interview today. The reward was handed over quietly and without fanfare at the American Embassy in Nassau.
Another $13,000 raised by private donors will also be split among the five who were officially recognised as directly assisting in the arrest. Others who received a share were Capt. Ronald Billiot, Captain Ben Johnson, Captain Patrick Young and Jordan Sackett who was interviewed extensively at the time of the celebrated capture.
Harris-Moore, who once had thousands of Facebook friends at the edge of their keyboards, awaiting his next daring move, not sure whether they were applauding his courage or shocked at his boldness, is now in isolation at the Federal Detention Center near Seattle, Washington, awaiting trial.
His capture in The Bahamas was a feather in the cap of the Royal Bahamas Police Force which was credited with handling the case with extreme professionalism after numerous law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and Canada, including federal agents, were unable to nab the nimble fugitive who got the name Barefoot Bandit because he often was. The capture also was an unplanned mini stimulus package, giving rise to tee-shirts and music. And by the cocktail hour the day after Harris-Moore’s capture, Romora Bay Resort & Marina was selling a drink called the Barefoot Bandit at its Sunsets Bar & Grill overlooking the marina. The drink is still popular and guests still ask for the story.
By Diane Phillips
