CAMANO ISLAND — The latest effort to bring in Colton Harris-Moore apparently failed Tuesday.
The notorious teen fugitive didn’t take advantage of $50,000 offered in exchange for his freedom.
A 3 p.m. Tuesday deadline came and went with no sign of Harris-Moore, 19, Edmonds attorney Jim Johanson said.
“At this point the offer is going to be withdrawn,” Johanson said.
The anonymous cash offer was announced Thursday by Johanson, who also said he’d be willing to represent Harris-Moore for free in criminal proceedings. Johanson said Tuesday he hadn’t spoken with the donor to determine next steps.
The offer was made in an attempt to get Harris-Moore to surrender before anyone is hurt.
Meanwhile, Harris-Moore’s mother, Pam Kohler, contacted a different lawyer, Seattle criminal defense attorney John Henry Browne, who said he would help the teen surrender to police.
Browne has represented a number of people in high-profile cases, including Tulalip tribal member Stormmy Paul in a cigarette smuggling case and Teresa Gaethe-Leonard, convicted of the 1997 murder of her estranged husband.
Browne said Kohler called him at 11 p.m. Monday to inquire if he might be interested in her son’s case.
“The answer is: ‘Yeah, that’s what I do for a living,’” he said.
It’s common to help a wanted individual safely turn himself in to police, Browne said, and it is appropriate for the client to come looking for the lawyer’s help, not the other way around.
If Harris-Moore surrenders and then determines he’d like to retain Browne, and Browne decides to take the case, only then would an agreement be reached, Browne said.
The 6-foot 5-inch Harris-Moore is suspected in dozens of burglaries and thefts in at least five Washington counties, British Columbia and Idaho. Police suspect he may have piloted stolen planes and used stolen boats to move around on the state’s inland waters. He fled juvenile detention in April 2008 and has been on the lam since.
Law enforcement around northwest Washington has pursued the teen with help from the FBI and other federal agencies.
Last week, Mike Rocha, an Everett bail bond recovery agent, introduced himself to Camano Island residents and outlined his plan to capture Harris-Moore. Rocha said he is volunteering his time as a community service and will work as a private liaison between law enforcement and the public.
Island County Sheriff Mark Brown said he will not work with private bounty hunters nor does he endorse offers to pay Harris-Moore for any purpose.
Kohler said Tuesday she wasn’t surprised her son didn’t surrender for money.
“He’s not interested in a lousy $50,000 for his freedom,” she said.
She doesn’t know Johanson and doesn’t believe her son would want to work with him.
“I will do the best I can to talk him into going a different way,” she said.
For now, she said she’d just like to hear from her son directly, or to learn that he’s called Browne to safely surrender.
Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437; jholtz@heraldnet.com.
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