MADISON, Wis. (AP) - The search for a missing Wisconsin woman concluded on Sunday night when police discovered Morgan Geyser, 23, sleeping outside a truck stop in Posen, Illinois. Geyser became widely known for her role in a 2014 stabbing incident where she nearly killed her classmate, Payton Leutner, under the influence of the fictional horror character, Slender Man. Posen is approximately 25 miles south of Chicago and 170 miles south of Madison.
Authorities reported that Geyser had removed her electronic monitoring device and fled her group home in Madison around 8 p.m. on Saturday. She was found in the company of a 42-year-old man, who was subsequently charged with criminal trespassing and obstructing identification before being released from custody. Geyser is expected to appear in court in Cook County on Tuesday morning for an extradition hearing back to Wisconsin.
Geyser's attorney, Tony Cotton, stated he was unaware of the circumstances surrounding her departure from the group home and had not yet spoken with her following her apprehension. Posen police issued a statement indicating that officers were dispatched to the truck stop after receiving reports of a male and female loitering behind the building, ultimately discovering Geyser and the man sleeping on the sidewalk.
Upon being approached by officers, Geyser initially provided a false name and declined to identify herself, claiming she had "done something really bad" and suggested officers could "just Google" her. She and the man were taken into custody without any incidents.
In 2017, Geyser pleaded guilty to being a party to attempted first-degree intentional homicide during the attack on her classmate. She claimed she was not fully responsible for her actions due to mental illness. Judge Michael Bohren ordered her commitment to a psychiatric facility for a duration of 40 years, and she was transferred to the Winnebago Mental Health Institute.
According to Wisconsin law, individuals committed in criminal cases are eligible to petition for release every six months. Geyser filed four petitions before Judge Bohren ultimately approved her release in January. Prosecutors argued against her release, voicing concerns about her trustworthiness.
The state Department of Health Services, overseeing Geyser's care, attempted to counter the judge's decision in March after alleging that Geyser had not disclosed reading a novel about murder and had communicated with a man who collected murder memorabilia. Cotton defended Geyser, stating that her reading material was chosen by staff and that she had cut ties with the collector.
The judge concluded that Geyser's actions did not indicate she was trying to hide anything, leading to her eventual release in September and placement in a Madison group home.
However, the Madison Police Department disclosed that they were not notified of Geyser's missing status until approximately 12 hours after she had left the group home. The Department of Corrections first received an alert regarding the malfunctioning ankle monitor connected to Geyser, but the subsequent apprehension request was not issued until shortly after midnight following confirmation from the group home that she had left.
In a disturbing context, Geyser and her friend Anissa Weier had lured Leutner to a park with the intent of enacting a fictional allegiance to Slender Man, which they believed would protect their families from harm. Geyser inflicted multiple stab wounds on Leutner during the attack, which she and Weier justified by claiming they were attempting to become Slender Man's "servants."
Weier also pleaded guilty in the case, receiving a similar diagnosis and subsequent commitment to a psychiatric center, from which she was released in 2021.
The Leutner family was reportedly not informed of Geyser's disappearance until a victim-witness coordinator contacted them on Sunday morning. Waukesha County District Attorney Lesli Boese emphasized the lack of communication surrounding the incident.
