WI - Audrey Seiler for faking abduction, Madison, 2004

[Pepper]

It will be interesting to find out what triggered her behavior. Seems like she is seeking attention - from her parents, or from her boyfriend perhaps?

I agree that she needs help. But I also think she needs to face charges, and she or her parents need to make financial restitution for the expenses of the search for her. To do nothing would be to send the wrong message to other hoaxters that they face no consequences for their actions.

I fear that this incident may cause other missing cases to not be taken seriously.

This case reminds me of the incident a couple years back where the young woman falsified a bomb or terrorist threat on a cruise ship because she wanted to go home to be with her boyfriend. She was on a cruise with her parents, and the cruise line returned to port. She ruined a cruise for all the passengers on the ship! I remember charges were filed, but I don't recall the outcome.

 

[Megan]

Lauren,

I'm very happy to here that they put her in a hospital. Apparently, this girl is very troubled. At first I thought she should be prosecuted, but if she is mentally unstable then she needs help. I will also be praying for her.

I concur wholeheartedly. This is so sad. I'm so dissapointed that this is becoming a trend.

 

[Cypros]

The "culprit" certainly does look like the father. hmmmm. Maybe just means that that is the male face that she can describe best, but could have a more sinister meaning. Maybe the dad was not behaving properly with his daughter and this messed her up mentally. It will be interesting to see how this develops.

 

[Newswolf]

A psychiatriac evaluation seems like a good start.

http://www.madison.com/wisconsinstatejournal/local/71568.php

"UW Madison student Audrey Seiler faked her own abduction and sparked an expensive manhunt, police said Friday, and a family friend said that Seiler was receiving psychiatric services Friday. <

Seiler, 20, who was found walking in a marsh on Madison's South Side Wednesday after disappearing from her apartment near campus early Saturday, was at a Madison area hospital Friday, family friend Sue Francis said. "

http://www.madison.com/wisconsinstatejournal/local/71561.php

"Seiler, who graduated from Rockford High School in 2002, had been a member of the homecoming court, National Honor Society president, captain of the girls' volleyball and basketball teams and a band officer. She was chosen as the female "teacher's pet" by her classmates and had graduated third in her class. <

"Did she seem to be the kind of girl that sought out praise? No," Pierskalla said. "She was not a leader out in front, all rah-rah. She was a leader by being a role model. Audrey was not one of those students at Rockford who had to stand up on a podium to be noticed." <

Some in town, like Pierskalla, wondered if changing from a big fish in a little pond to a little fish in the competitive pond of a Big Ten school created new, unbearable pressure. <

Close family friend Sue Francis believes stress between Seiler and her boyfriend, Ryan Fisher, was the impetus of the young woman's actions. Seiler had continued to do well in college, she said, so it's not clear if educational stress played a part. <

 

[CARLA]

:waitasec: If she does have mental problems, then she needs help..!!

For some reason, I still don't believe she is telling the whole truth, my gut tells me she is just playing the cards as the fall.!! :snooty: She didn't have any mental problems planning this charade, or implementing it..!!

She just might be doing it again, so charges won't be brought against her.. :waitasec: :waitasec: Once again I hope I'm wrong..~!!

JUMPING THROUGH THE HOOPS TO STAY IN COLLEGE, AND NOT BE BRANDED A CRIMINAL..!! :slap:

 

[CARLA]

Great observation BABCAT,

Drawing does look like dad..!! Well now we know there wasn't any abductor, maybe the police spotted the likeness as well.. !!

I still feel she is not telling the whole truth. If she does have mental problems then I'm glad she is getting help.

Or is she still yanking everyones chain to keep herself from being charged with a crime..!! :waitasec: :waitasec: I still don't think she has told the whole story..!! :silenced: Just my opinion !!

 

[Marthatex]

I'm glad to hear she's in psychiatric care; that way they can rule in or out psychiatric illness and give her the help she needs. It makes sense that she may have done it to get attention from her boyfriend. Even depression can make you do crazy things. I'm glad there are people still supporting the family, maybe she is in crisis.

 

[Mimi]

I am perplexed as to WHY she would do this...albeit that being said, mental instability could certainly factor in here....it is scary though to think a girl that on the surface appears to have it all, can't handle the pressures that are upon her at this age...I hope she gets all the help she needs and that some good comes of this- maybe a study or realization that young kids need more than just to come from a decent home......they need understanding, attention, affirmation of their feelings and most importantly respect...not sure it will keep something like this from being repeated but maybe it will?? Who knows....the biggest thing that scares me is the "never cry wolf" part...If and when someone IS abducted, I pray to God that people in this area respond immediately and with belief.

I however do think Audrey should be made aware of the problems and seriousness that her false accusations could cause down the road, in REAL abduction cases, so that others are not encouraged to pull pranks like this again...jmo of course!

 

[Trino]

One would guess that her February report indicating that she was hit over the head and knocked unconscious is also false. At that time things seemed strange, too, because nothing was taken from her and she was not sexually assaulted.

This would be two false police reports. I don't think she should be allowed to simply walk away from all of this.

 

[smile22]

omg i cant belive she faked the kidnaping i think it was for attention, u know how they found her in the marsh well what if she was faking her own kidnaping,went to the marsh area and some wanted crminal was hiding out there and decided she was good bait for him and something worse happend, if she went to a hotel a little ways from her town and paid cash it would have been a little better than the marsh

 

[Newswolf]

We still don't know exactly where she was and if police do, they're not saying yet, but her family has a lawyer for her now.

http://www.madison.com/wisconsinstatejournal/local/71606.php

"Kamholz said the "serious part" of the investigation into the hoax is over, but he continued to dodge questions about whether Seiler acted alone, when and why police began believing she'd been abducted, when police first suspected her disappearance was a hoax, and why she did it. "

"UNANSWERED QUESTIONS REMAIN
Q. Where was Audrey Seiler from early Saturday morning to Wednesday afternoon? A. Police have said she was spotted in two different parts of the city, but they will not say where. Police do not know or will not say how much time she spent in the marsh where she was found. "

 

[Trino]

It sounds like she faked her abduction entirely to gain the attention of her boyfriend. If he dumps her, it certainly worked! Latest reports say the investigation cost a minimum of $70,000. Aside from the cost, it really angers me that this young lady upset her parents, her friends, the school. I hope she's willing, at least, to cough up $$$ spent looking for her. My guess, however, is that she'll get off with a warning. Her parents already have a lawyer.

 

[CARLA]

Someone needs to pay the community back... It should be Audrey, not her parents. $70,000 is a lot of money to get your boyfriends attention.

She has caused grief for the community, and her family.!! I hope she is charged with something, this goes beyond not knowing right from wrong. I still believe she is holding back, still playing the game to avoid punishment.. :bang: She knew full well what she was doing in my opinion. :silenced:

 

[Casshew]

Someone needs to pay the community back... It should be Audrey, not her parents. $70,000 is a lot of money to get your boyfriends attention.

How about 70,000 hours of community service?

 

[CurrerBell]

That poor pathetic girl needs help. I'm just glad she WASN'T found murdered as the consequence of an abduction. It seems some would rather that have happened than her staging her own disappearance. I'm glad she's alive. I hope she gets better.

 

[shadow]

FBI profiler Candice DeLong said she thinks Audrey has Munchausen's Syndrome. Rita Cosby had a clinical psychologist on and he said he thought it could be borderline personality disorder or manic depressive disorder. these experts also pointed out if this had been a minority they would be facing criminal charges. i think restitution needs to be made to the State after Audrey completes psychiatric counseling. they also said she could face up to 9 months in jail for a misdemeanor conviction. it seems many of the students on campus were angry they had to walk in pairs at night and blame her for scaring everyone. i don't think she'll be able to return to that campus and there were searchers for her from her hometown who might be angry at her as well. she'll probably transfer to a new university after she recovers and resolves her legal problems! i don't think it was academically related but might have had something to do with personal relationships. why did she place herself behind her parents hotel??????? wasn't the b/f staying there too?

 

[shadow]

Audrey Seiler, the UW-Madison student who last week faked her own abduction, is now being represented by a high-powered Minneapolis attorney. <

Randy Hopper, a partner with Zimmerman Reed and a litigator in the national anti-tobacco lawsuits, said Saturday he asked Keith and Stephanie Seiler and their friends to decline media interviews. <

http://www.madison.com/wisconsinstatejournal/local/71606.php

 

[Lilybug1]

It sounds like she faked her abduction entirely to gain the attention of her boyfriend. If he dumps her, it certainly worked! Latest reports say the investigation cost a minimum of $70,000. Aside from the cost, it really angers me that this young lady upset her parents, her friends, the school. I hope she's willing, at least, to cough up $$$ spent looking for her. My guess, however, is that she'll get off with a warning. Her parents already have a lawyer.

On one hand, I don't believe the parents should be punished for their daughter's indiscretions and obvious mental instability. I don't think any seemingly normal parents could have affirmatively raised a child to stage their own abductions. Whether your parents dote on/neglect you, read to you/plop you in front of a TV, support/berate you, have an impact on the person you become, your insecurities/confidence, etc. They set the mold...but I don't think they can blamed for what you ultimately become. Some kids are just driven and some are just troubled, despite all their parents efforts or inaction. So, under normal circumstances, I don't think the parents should have to pay back the $70k on behalf of their daughter...but the parents have hired a high-priced attorney to limit their daughter's liability and protect her from having to answer to the police and society...I assure that they will spend near $70k, if not more, on the this high-priced attorneys service. Why not spend the money on paying back society and teach your daughter the lesson of culpability and responsibility, instead hiding behind a high-priced lawyer thereby making society/police spend more resources/time trying to get straight answers?

 

[Newswolf]

http://www.madison.com/wisconsinstatejournal/local/71660.php

Store video convinced police of Seiler hoax Madison police had questions early on about Audrey Seiler's disappearance but weren't convinced it was a hoax until Thursday night, shortly after releasing a sketch of the man she said was her abductor. <

That's when police got a video of Seiler buying a knife, duct tape, and other items she said were used by her abductor, acting Police Chief Noble Wray said Sunday. <

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Seiler remains in Madison, but Wray could not say if she remained in a psychiatric hospital ward.
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"She always thinks things through before she does them. She doesn't do things just on a whim," said Seiler's mother, Stephanie Seiler, in an interview about two hours before her daughter was found Wednesday afternoon. <

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Police continue to look into the Feb. 1 incident but have not determined its validity, Wray said. Police are also trying to determine where Seiler was when she was missing.

 

[ISPTRAX]

"She always thinks things through before she does them. She doesn't do things just on a whim," said Seiler's mother, Stephanie Seiler, in an interview about two hours before her daughter was found Wednesday afternoon.

She sure does "think things through before doing them" -- all that pre-planning to by her Abduction Kit items...