Staff writer
Was Santa on an undercover mission checking his naughty and nice list last week in Hillsboro?
Maybe so. Police don’t know, but they think it is possible.
Someone resembling the description of Santa Claus allegedly eluded Hillsboro Police Dec. 17 while illegally operating an ATV within city limits.
Officer Brad Richards spotted the man he dubbed “Santa” heading eastbound on 3rd St. in broad daylight.
Richards said the man was not wearing the infamous red suit, but he had long white hair and a white beard.
However, when Richards turned in pursuit of “Jolly Old Saint Nick,” the joy rider had mysteriously disappeared and could not be located despite his efforts.
Having escaped, police could not confirm if the unknown individual was really Santa in disguise or just a hairy lookalike.
“I’m not entirely sure who it was, but we might have a suspect,” Police Chief Dan Kinning said. “But how could I put Santa in jail though? How would that look? The kids wouldn’t like me anymore.”
Accordingly, Kinning isn’t sure how wise it would be to pursue any hunch considering the time of year.
In the past, Hillsboro allowed ATV operation on city streets, but the law was not successful, he said, so ATV operation was outlawed again, even for Santa Claus.
“We tried to allow it, but no one understood the law,” Kinning said. “It confused the heck out of everyone. We had young kids riding around without licenses. It was just a mess.”