Folks in downtown Great Falls watering holes the past couple of weeks may have come across an ersatz "Travel and health advisory warning for Lethbridge."
It warns of an outbreak in the southern Alberta city of DARS, which it describes as "disorientation and relocation syndrome."
Symptoms, the flyer says, include "disappearing suddenly without notice; reappearing in distant locations several days later; victim has no knowledge of traveling."
It is, of course, a crosswise reference, in the context of the worldwide SARS outbreak, to the disappearance early this month of Lethbridge Alderwoman Darlene "Dar" Heatherington while on an official visit to Great Falls. She later surfaced in Las Vegas.
GREAT FALLS, Mont. -- An Alberta alderwoman who caused a stir when she disappeared in the U.S. earlier this month was scolded by a judge yesterday after signing a deal that eventually will see a charge of lying to police dropped.
Lethbridge Ald. Dar Heatherington appeared frail and frightened throughout court proceedings in a basement room filled mostly with reporters and a few police officers at the Great Falls municipal centre. She entered and left clutching her husband's hand.
The whole process took less than half an hour, bringing to an end Great Falls' part in the bizarre odyssey of the 39-year-old mother of three who disappeared May 3 while on a business trip with other Lethbridge officials. She was found four days later at a Las Vegas hotel, after an extensive search.
Heatherington has been an alderwoman for a little more than 18 months and serves on numerous civic committees. Their children are 10, 8 and 4.
"I want to say to you, Mrs. Heatherington, that your reckless behaviour has caused a lot of worry and expense to the residents of Great Falls and your family," municipal court Judge Nancy Luth said.
"Get the help that I think you probably need."
Moments before appearing in court, Heatherington signed a deal stipulating she stay out of trouble for a year, provide written proof she is seeing a psychiatrist and pay court costs of $100 US before the misdemeanour is dropped.
Great Falls police say it's clear Heatherington needs mental-health care, and city officials have declined to press her for the costs of the search, estimated to be about $14,000.
She is not facing any charges in Lethbridge and for now remains on paid leave from the city council.
Larsen declined Tuesday to comment on Heatherington's motives or mental status, except to say that "it appeared to be a situation that could happen to anyone under the circumstances. I don't think she did it with malice, and I don't think she did it with extreme forethought."
The Heatheringtons did not talk to reporters Tuesday.
DEFERRED PROSECUTION
The deal, called a deferred prosecution agreement, means she acknowledges the state had enough evidence to file the misdemeanour charge of providing false information to police. It also means she did not have to plead her guilt or innocence but she pleaded not guilty anyway.
A court trial for Aug. 28 was set, but the prosecutor said that is just a technicality until the agreement papers go through.
The Heatheringtons refused comment.
Heatherington, 39, disappeared May 3 and showed up disoriented three days later in the parking area of a Las Vegas hotel. She told Great Falls police she was sexually abused by an Alberta man who offered her a ride to California, but the county's chief prosecutor said she later changed her story.
Even though the initial furor over Heatherington has died down, the deal itself is still causing differences of opinion in the city of Great Falls.
Kory Larsen, the assistant city attorney who drew up the offer, said the deal was made because Heatherington doesn't have a previous criminal record.
But Brant Light, the county's chief prosecutor, said he believes the deal was politically motivated.
"I think that the deal was made right from the city's top offices," Light said yesterday.
"I think they were concerned about offending the city leadership in Lethbridge and . . . they wanted this simply to go away as quietly as possible."
Great Falls Mayor Randy Gray said he had nothing to do with the charge or the deal.
"I'm not involved in the decision involving what to do with her or what charges to bring. That was up to the city's attorney office," he said.
The mayor did say it's unlikely Heatherington will be rebuked if she doesn't meet the agreement's terms.
"This is a misdemeanour in a city court. It's not an extraditable offence, so I don't think we are going to drive across the border and try to extradite her from Canada for not fulfilling the agreement," Gray said.
"But I would hope that it would encourage her to be doing what she should be doing."
Light, who watched Great Falls police interview Heatherington for four hours May 6, said the alderwoman originally said she was abducted from a city parking lot. But police showed her a camera mounted near the parking lot and told her they had a videotape of her calmly leaving her car.
"That was the point that got her to break," said Light.
Police never had such a video because the camera wasn't on that day, Light said.
Larsen, who watched Heatherington sign the deal, said she appeared remorseful.
"It's a step in the right direction, accepting responsibility for your actions, which this does," he said.
It was the first time the mother of three appeared in public since she told police she had been kidnapped and sexually assaulted during a mysterious disappearance from Great Falls.
Since returning to her Lethbridge home, the mother of three children has spent most of her time recovering and resting in bed, said her husband.
David Heatherington said last week his wife is getting medical attention from her physician and a psychiatrist.
Heatherington, a fire department medical training officer, said he believes his wife was sexually abused during her disappearance because he saw bruises on her body after she returned home.
The Heatheringtons told Larsen that he will receive a letter confirming that she is seeing a psychiatrist by week's end.
Heatherington's husband and mother have said the alderwoman is eager to explain exactly what happened, but for now her Lethbridge lawyer has told her not to talk to the media.
Her disappearance prompted many Lethbridge residents to call for the alderwoman's resignation from council. Some Great Falls residents have said they want Heatherington to pay the $15,000 US cost of the three-day search in their farming community of 60,000 people.
Light said this case will make it difficult to prosecute future rape charges.
"I think that the impact on the community, the impact on real victims is something that we will suffer for years," he said.
The City of Lethbridge placed an ad in last Friday's Great Falls Tribune apologizing for causing any inconvenience and thanking the city for the search.
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