Colton Harris-Moore arrives in Nassau on Sunday after his arrest.Colton Harris-Moore arrives in Nassau on Sunday after his arrest. (Felipe Major/Associated Press)

Police in the Bahamas say they have caught the teenage American fugitive known as the "Barefoot Bandit."

A police official says 19-year-old Colton Harris-Moore was arrested Sunday morning on the northern island of Eleuthera. The official was not authorized to speak publicly about the case and so made the comments on condition of anonymity.

The official said police expect to fly Harris-Moore within hours from Eleuthera to Nassau, the capital of the island chain off the Florida coast.

Island police have been searching for the wily fugitive since he allegedly crash-landed a stolen plane on the Bahamian island Grand Abaco a week ago.

He has been on the run from U.S. law enforcement since escaping a Washington state halfway house in 2008.