Colton Harris-Moore's Birthday Coming Up: Police Want to Give the Barefoot Bandit a Surprise

EASTSOUND, Wash. (CBS/AP) Colton Harris-Moore is turning 19 next week, and police are looking for a chance to wish the wanted fugitive happy birthday in person.

PICTURES: Great Escape Artist or Crook?

But unfortunately, the birthday boy didn't turn up after during a failed search on Thursday, which involved over 30 heavily armed law enforcement officers, FBI agents, dog teams and a helicopter.

Investigators scoured the west side of Orcas Island, just three hours north of Seattle, from early Thursday morning until late afternoon, when the search was scaled back.

San Juan County Sheriff Bill Cumming says Harris-Moore was believed to be in an isolated and rugged area where only a few homes are located.

PICTURES: Great Escape Artist or Crook?

The sheriff said late Thursday afternoon that search resources can be "redeployed if the situation warrants."

Authorities wouldn't say precisely what prompted the latest manhunt.

They believe Harris-Moore has been hiding out on Orcas since Feb. 10 when a small stolen plane landed in the mud there.

Back in April 2008, the teen escaped from a halfway house in Renton where he was serving a 3-year sentence for burglaries on Camano Island. Since then he has been suspected of stealing planes, boats and cars, and breaking into homes and businesses in Washington, Idaho and British Columbia.

Harris-Moore has fostered a small community on Facebook that has begun to romanticize the wayward young man.

A Seattle man, Adin Stevens, even started selling T-shirts bearing Harris-Moore's picture and the words "Momma Tried."

Another site sells "Fly Colt Fly" shirts making reference to Harris-Moore's repeated alleged attempts to steal then fly small planes even though he doesn't have a pilot's license. Each time he has allegedly crash landed.

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PICTURES: Great Escape Artist or Crook?

MORE ON CRIMESIDER
February 12, 2010 - Colton Harris-Moore: Is America's Most Wanted Teen Burglar Back for More?
October 8, 2009 - Colton Harris Moore's DNA Found At Crime Scene (Photos)
October 8, 2009 - Colton Harris-Moore Facebook Fans Romanticize Elusive Island Criminal
October 7, 2009 - Colton Harris-Moore: "Catch Me If You Can" Teen Eludes Detectives