A massive police search was mounted because a woman was so drunk she thought she had lost a young child she was caring for.
Vicky Anderson believed she was looking after the four-year-old during a shopping trip when the child was in fact being cared for in another town altogether, Perth Sheriff Court heard yesterday.
Hysterical Anderson (35) sparked a massive hour-long hunt involving a police dog and officers across the region when she reported the youngster missing.
She initially told officers she had lost the child while in the Co-op on Perth’s Rannoch Road, but repeatedly changed her story.
The child was eventually found safe and well in Blairgowrie being looked after by family members.
Upon being arrested, Anderson began to lash out at police officers, stamping repeatedly on one officer’s foot.
The court heard how shop staff alerted the authorities when a bare-footed and distressed Anderson said she had lost the child.
Depute fiscal John Malpass said, “Police were called … in relation to a female who was allegedly under the influence of alcohol and unable to take care of herself.
“The circumstances related to the police officers concerned the accused and another person entering the nearby Co-op with a four-year-old child and had left the premises leaving the child within the store.”
Police visited Anderson’s Moulin Crescent home but were unable to make sense of her story.CCTV Footage”They viewed the CCTV footage from the shop but could not see the child.
Mr Malpass said, “Because of the nature of the allegation a policing plan was put in place which involved the deployment and instruction of at least 10 police officers attending in the area and searching for the missing child.”
He added, “Further information had been sought from the accused in relation to a physical description, the clothing … and the last known whereabouts, but the accused hampered efforts by giving different stories on being pressed on specific details.”
She refused to say if there was anywhere the child could have gone and would not answer questions about why the child did not appear on the CCTV footage.
Meanwhile, police tracked down family members with whom the child had been the whole time.
Anderson was arrested for wasting police time but resisted violently.
At the height of the operation, there were 20 police constables, three sergeants, a dog and handler, an inspector, two control room operators and a chief inspector involved, with 39 hours of police time wasted, Mr Malpass said.
She pleaded guilty to falsely claiming a child had gone missing, causing the police to waste time and services in an investigation she knew to be false.
She also admitted assaulting a police officer by kicking him on the leg and stamping on his foot.
Solicitor Rosemary Scott said her client’s partner, who had originally been a co-accused, “convinced” Anderson they were caring for the child.
She was sentenced to 120 hours community service.