In the autumn of 1649, the parish of Glendevon in Perthshire became the site of a legal inquiry that would mark the life of Margaret Kinard. On the 10th of October, her name was officially entered into the judicial register under case reference C/EGD/175, formalizing the accusations of witchcraft brought against her. Within the context of the intense ecclesiastical and civil scrutiny that characterized the mid-seventeenth century in Scotland, such an entry signaled the beginning of a precarious process of interrogation and trial.
However, the subsequent legal documentation, T/LA/36, reveals that the case took a decisive turn before it could reach a final verdict. Rather than submitting to the proceedings of the local court, Margaret chose a path of evasion, choosing to abandon her home in Glendevon. By the conclusion of the inquiry, the record identifies her officially as a fugitive. She effectively exited the reach of the Scottish judicial system, leaving behind a brief but definitive paper trail that documents her flight amidst the broader climate of the 1649 witch-hunt.