Morgan Geyser, one of the assailants in the notorious 2014 Slender Man stabbing, was taken into custody in Illinois after she cut off her electronic monitoring bracelet and fled a Wisconsin group home where she was under supervised release. The recapture ended a brief manhunt that reignited public attention on the decade-old case involving the fictional internet character.
Geyser was last seen in Madison, Wisconsin, around 8 p.m. on Saturday after allegedly removing her Department of Corrections monitoring device and leaving the group home unnoticed. Police issued a public alert on Sunday morning, sharing a recent surveillance image and urging anyone with information to contact authorities. Her disappearance prompted an intensive search across state lines, highlighting the vulnerabilities in monitoring systems for individuals with complex mental health histories.
She was located Sunday night at a Thornton’s truck stop in Posen, Illinois, approximately 25 minutes south of Chicago, where she and an adult acquaintance were apprehended by local police. The pair had traveled to Posen by bus after fleeing Wisconsin, according to authorities. Geyser was taken into custody without incident, bringing a swift conclusion to the escape that had raised concerns about public safety and the effectiveness of her supervised release conditions.
The incident traces back to a harrowing 2014 attack in Waukesha, Wisconsin, when Geyser and her friend Anissa Weier, both 12 years old at the time, lured their classmate Payton Leutner to a wooded area. Geyser stabbed Leutner 19 times while Weier watched, later claiming they intended to appease Slender Man, a faceless fictional character from online horror folklore. The brutal assault shocked the community and drew international media coverage due to its connection to internet culture and the perpetrators’ young ages.
Leutner, left bleeding and alone, managed to crawl to a nearby road where a passing cyclist found her and summoned help. She survived with life-threatening injuries after emergency medical treatment, and her resilience became a focal point of the case. The victim’s family has since maintained a low profile, emphasizing their focus on healing and safety in the wake of the recent events involving Geyser.
Legal proceedings saw Geyser and Weier initially charged as adults and pleading guilty, but their pleas were vacated when they were found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. Both were committed to psychiatric institutions, with Geyser sentenced to up to 40 years and Weier to 25 years. In March 2025, Geyser was transferred from the Winnebago Mental Health Institute to a group home after psychologists testified she was prepared for supervised release, despite prosecutors raising concerns about her behavior.
Family responses underscored the emotional toll of the escape; Geyser’s mother, Angie Geyser, issued a public statement pleading for her daughter’s safety, while the Leutner family expressed gratitude to law enforcement and assured the public of their well-being. Geyser’s attorney, Tony Cotton, had earlier urged her to turn herself in, emphasizing it was in her best interest to cooperate with authorities and avoid further legal complications.
The recapture raises questions about the balance between rehabilitation and public safety in cases involving severe mental illness. Authorities are likely to review the circumstances of Geyser’s escape and her current custody status, potentially leading to stricter monitoring or revised release conditions. This event serves as a reminder of the lasting impact of the Slender Man phenomenon and the ongoing challenges in managing high-profile offenders within the mental health and justice systems.
