A chilling case resurfaced this weekend as Morgan Geyser, the Wisconsin woman who attempted to murder a classmate at age 12 to appease the fictional horror character Slender Man, went missing after removing her electronic monitoring device.
Authorities issued an alert Sunday, stating the 23-year-old Geyser was last seen with an adult acquaintance Saturday evening. The search quickly intensified, fueled by the disturbing history surrounding the 2014 attack that captivated and horrified the nation.
The search concluded late Sunday with Geyser taken into custody at a truck stop in Posen, Illinois, approximately 25 miles south of Chicago. The location marked a significant distance from her group home in Madison, Wisconsin, and raised questions about the circumstances of her escape.
Police also apprehended a 42-year-old man at the scene, charging him with criminal trespassing and obstructing identification. He was later released, leaving investigators to focus on Geyser and the motivations behind her flight.
Geyser’s release into a group home earlier this year followed a period of confinement at the Winnebago Mental Health Institute. She had been committed to the institute in 2018 after pleading guilty to attempted first-degree intentional homicide, a plea deal that spared her prison time.
Her attorney expressed concern and urged Geyser to surrender, stating he had no knowledge of her whereabouts or the reasons for her departure. The delay in reporting her missing – nearly twelve hours after she left the group home – also sparked scrutiny.
The Department of Corrections initially received an alert regarding a malfunction with Geyser’s ankle monitor Saturday night. However, it wasn’t until a call from the group home the following morning that the Madison Police Department was officially notified of her absence.
The horrific 2014 stabbing unfolded after Geyser and her friend, Anissa Weier, lured their classmate, Payton Leutner, to a park under the guise of a sleepover. Geyser then brutally stabbed Leutner over a dozen times, while Weier encouraged the attack.
The girls confessed to investigators that they believed the attack was necessary to prove their devotion to Slender Man, a terrifying internet creation, and to protect their families from his imagined wrath. Payton Leutner miraculously survived the brutal assault.
Slender Man originated in 2009 as a digitally manipulated image created by Eric Knudson, quickly evolving into a widespread online phenomenon. The character’s influence extended into video games, stories, and even a major motion picture, becoming a modern boogeyman for a generation.
Anissa Weier, also pleading guilty to a lesser charge of attempted second-degree intentional homicide, was similarly committed to a psychiatric facility and granted release in 2021. The case continues to serve as a stark reminder of the power of online mythology and its potential consequences.
