A nationwide manhunt for Morgan Geyser ended Sunday night when authorities took the Wisconsin woman into custody in Illinois, bringing relief to a community shaken by her sudden disappearance.
The Madison Police Department confirmed Geyser was apprehended at approximately 10:34 p.m., concluding an intense search that had stretched across state lines.
Geyser gained notoriety after her conviction in the shocking 2014 “Slender Man” stabbing case that horrified the nation. Her escape Saturday night triggered immediate concern among law enforcement and the public.
According to police reports, Geyser removed her Department of Corrections monitoring bracelet before fleeing a Madison group home on Saturday evening.
The Madison Police Department did not learn of her disappearance until Sunday morning, several hours after she had vanished.
“Morgan Geyser was last seen in the area of Kroncke Dr. around 8 p.m. with an adult acquaintance,” the department stated in a social media post on Sunday.
“Her whereabouts are unknown as of Sunday morning.”
Authorities released security footage from the past month showing a recent image of Geyser. The police department urged citizens to call 911 immediately if they spotted her.
The 2014 case shocked Wisconsin and the entire country when details emerged about the brutal attack. In 2017, Geyser entered a guilty plea to attempted first-degree intentional homicide in the violent stabbing of Payton Leutner.
Geyser’s defense centered on her mental illness, with her legal team arguing she was not responsible for her actions.
She told investigators her motivation for attempting to kill Leutner was to satisfy the fictional horror character Slender Man. A court ultimately found her not guilty by reason of mental defect.
The attack occurred during what should have been an innocent sleepover in May 2014.
Geyser and her friend, Anissa Weier, were both 12 years old when they lured Leutner into a wooded park.
With Weier’s encouragement, Geyser stabbed Leutner 19 times in the brutal assault. Against all odds, Leutner survived the attack, though she suffered severe physical and emotional trauma.
Following her conviction, Geyser spent the last seven years at the Winnebago Mental Health Institute. Her original sentence required her to remain in the psychiatric hospital for 40 years.
Under the terms of her sentence, Geyser was permitted to petition the court for conditional release every six months. This provision allowed for periodic review of her mental health status and potential reintegration into society under strict supervision.
Fox News reported that police informed local outlet WMTV that Geyser had been residing at a group home in Madison before her disappearance. The transition from the mental health institute to the group home represented a step in her conditional release process.
The circumstances surrounding how Geyser was able to cut off her monitoring bracelet and leave the facility remain under investigation. Questions about supervision protocols and security measures are likely to arise in the aftermath of the escape.
Her capture in Illinois, just across the state border, suggests she did not travel far during her hours of freedom.
Authorities have not yet disclosed specific details about how they located and apprehended her.
