A Hamilton man who helped his runaway daughter elude authorities for a week may face charges, Cambridge police say.

Louise Irwin, a state ward, was listed as missing on December 30, after a row with Lynette Karam-Whalley, the Cambridge hairdresser who has been her foster-mother for the past two years.

After leaving Mrs Karam-Whalley’s salon, the 13-year-old hitch-hiked to Hamilton, where she was picked up by her birth father, Ronald Irwin, Sergeant Gordon Grantham said today.

Mr Irwin then allegedly hid his daughter from authorities for a week, telling police he had no idea where she was.

Today, Mr Irwin said that over the years 10 of his 11 children had been placed in CYF care because of alleged neglect.

“The real reason why I hide (sic) her was because I was trying to get hold of a counsellor,” he said.