Father of missing girl reacts to charges against Seiler
02:52 PM CDT on Wednesday, April 14, 2004
Staff and wire reports
The father of a missing Central Texas woman is reacting to news that police in Madison, Wisconsin are accusing a woman of faking her own disappearance.
Audrey Seiler was charged Wednesday with two misdemeanor counts of obstructing officers.
"I'm glad they did that. She broke the law and hurt a lot of people involved in real missing persons cases," says Robert Cooke of Georgetown. His daughter, Rachel, has been missing since January 2002.
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Hundreds of people from Madison and Seiler's hometown participated in searches for her after her disappearance.
Robert Cooke knows all too well the toll that takes on those involved, and what it means to have the community behind your efforts.
"I feel like for all of us helping in missing persons cases, she made us take a big step backwards. She negated a lot of what we've been doing these last few years," adds Cooke.
Investigators said Seiler told them, "It just got so out of hand. I did not mean for it to."
Each charge against Seiler carries a jail sentence up to nine months and a maximum fine of $10,000.
Cooke has a specific form of community service in mind for Seiler. "She should have to do community service in a search center, so that she understands the gravity of the situation," he suggests.
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