An Alford hotel owner has admitted lying to police about the whereabouts of a missing teenage girl.
Ivan Haggart, 55, bumped into the girl, then aged 17, at the Haughton Arms Hotel in Alford, which he owns, and struck up a conversation.
But when officers later approached him soon after to ask if he’d seen the girl he told them he hadn’t – despite her being on the premises at the time.
The teen, who had been reported missing by her mum, called the police herself a short time later and Haggart’s lie came to light.
Owner told cops he ‘had not seen anyone matching that description’
Fiscal depute Dylan Middleton told Aberdeen Sheriff Court: “At around 10.45pm on January 16 2020, the girl attended at the locus. Around the same time, her mother had reported her missing to police.”
Around an hour later, police approached Haggart while he was standing outside the hotel and made him aware they were looking for a 17-year-old girl and provided a description.
Mr Middleton said: “The accused informed them he had not seen anyone matching that description and that the bar was closed.”
‘A misguided thing to do’
The officers then left to resume their search and Haggart re-entered the hotel where the girl was.
At 12.30am the girl left the hotel and contacted police herself over an “unrelated matter”.
Officers arrived and took her to Alford police station before later tracing and arresting Haggart.
Haggart, of Main Street, Alford, pled guilty to a charge of wasting police time.
Defence agent John McLeod said police officers had initially told Haggart the girl they were looking for was a “runaway” and “tearaway”, and that they planned to arrest her.
He described Haggart saying he hadn’t seen her as “a misguided thing to do”, but explained the amount of police time wasted was less than an hour.
Sheriff Margaret Hodge ordered Haggart to pay a fine totalling £210.
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