Is Gig Harbor Bear The New Barefoot Bandit?

The notorious Barefoot Bandit, a.k.a. Colton Harris-Moore, was indicted yesterday on five federal charges and could be going to prison for a very long time. His absence has left a void in heroic and untraceable criminals in Washington. So now that it's been four days since a bear attacked a woman in Gig Harbor and wildlife officials still can't catch the creature despite baiting it with sardines, doughnuts and maple syrup, we ask: did the state just get back its gallant criminal darling?

Considering that a movement has started growing to save the bear from being euthanized, the animal already has a growing fan club.

It's no where near the amount of love that Harris-Moore got, what with his Facebook pages and T-shirts.

But the bear could be just getting started.

If it can move past this whole mauling-people's-heads-and-arms thing into something more sympathetic like, say, stealing pic-a-nic baskets, even more of the public may begin to back it.

Harris-Moore peppered his car, boat and plane thefts with random acts of kindness like when he left $100 at a veterinary office for them to use to take care of the animals.

The Gig Harbor bear could take a few hints from him--maybe bring a salmon to the woman it attacked as a peace offering.

Or better yet, the bear could hit the road. One of the biggest draws about Harris-Moore was that he seemed to turn up in a different place every few days.

If the bear can rob a cooler in Idaho by Monday, then raid a dumpster in Montana by next Friday, its celebrity will only grow.

To the woman the bear attacked: we're sorry. That wasn't right. But this bear may have bigger things in mind than chewing on your arms.

So for now, we say, "keep on running, Mr. Bear."