Sick and tired of the internet fan clubs for accused burglar Colton Harris-Moore, a Seattle man has taken action.

David Peters launched the blog “Catch the Barefoot Bandit” several weeks ago as a way to balance what he calls the “shocking and disappointing” coverage of Harris-Moore’s alleged crimes, which authorities say include dozens of burglaries as well as boat and plane thefts in San Juan and Island counties.

“The marginal voices of the Facebook page and fan site – both over-reported in popular media – had drowned out the voices of local citizens and their national (and international) supporters,” Peters said. “I thought, ‘I know these communities. I’ve talked to these citizens and these are not their voices. Where are their voices? Where is the fan site for communities? Where is the voice of reason?'”

Peters has personal ties to Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands, and knows some of Harris-Moore’s victims.

“In any community, but especially a small community, a crime against one feels like a crime against all,” he said. “I could not sit back and watch the selfish, irrational hype of fan sites and media betray our communities.”

The website, catchthebarefootbandit.wordpress.com, features news on 19-year-old Harris-Moore, information about the reward fund ($3,000 and growing), resources for reporting tips, links for parents, a section to leave comments, and an “anti-bandit store” with merchandise like T-shirts that say “Colton Harris-Moore, turn yourself in and we’ll give you the second half of the flight manual. You know, the part about landing.”

Twenty percent of the money Peters receives for selling the T-shirts, bags, ties, mugs, and stickers goes to the reward fund. The remainder goes toward keeping the site operating.

“While WordPress blogs are free to open and use, some require more time than others to maintain,” Peters said. “Many readers have seen blogs with ‘Donate to This Blog’ buttons; selling merchandise is an alternative to one of those buttons – an alternative that does double duty by spreading our message with the merchandise.”

In addition to operating the blog, Peters also advocates for communities through the press, and via phone and e-mail. Sales from the merchandise help offset those costs as well.

Peters says response to the blog has been tremendous.

“The site has thousands of visitors; its growth is exponential because so many people wanted a site such as this,” he said. “People who thought their voices were lost amid the silly ‘fanspeak’ are finally being heard, and know they’re being heard. Surprisingly, several prominent media outlets were not even aware of a reward fund. Clearly, media outlets failed to do their work for communities.”

Peters feels that some of the news coverage, namely in “Maxim” and “Rolling Stone,” made Harris-Moore’s supporters appear as legions, “when in fact they are a few thousand marginalized individuals, most of whom are unfamiliar with the case’s facts.” Peters says Harris-Moore became a “lightning rod for what is a minute percentage of society that happens to know how to open a Facebook page and exploit crime for profit … People who prefer to imagine that he is their hero, when really he does as much damage to their wallets and communities as to everyone else’s.”