Morgan Geyser, infamous for her involvement in the 2014 "Slender Man stabbing," has been apprehended in Illinois, merely a day after escaping her Wisconsin group home. The 23-year-old was taken into custody near Chicago on Sunday, November 23, 2025, following a multi-state search that began when her GPS ankle monitor ceased functioning.
Escape and Recapture: The "Just Google Me" Moment
Authorities were first alerted on Saturday night that Geyser's electronic monitoring bracelet had stopped transmitting. Officials at her Madison, Wisconsin group home subsequently confirmed her absence and the removal of the device. However, the Madison Police Department noted a significant delay, stating they weren't notified of her disappearance until nearly 12 hours later, on Sunday morning. As the urgency of the search grew, Geyser's attorney, Tony Cotton, published a video on Instagram, appealing directly to her to surrender.
Geyser's brief period of evasion concluded Sunday night in Posen, Illinois, a community approximately 165 miles from Madison and 20 miles south of Chicago. Posen police officers, responding to a tip about two individuals loitering behind a truck stop, discovered Geyser and an unidentified male sleeping on a sidewalk. Initially, Geyser attempted to conceal her identity, providing a false name and refusing to cooperate. Police accounts reveal a striking moment: "After continued attempts to identify her, she finally stated that she didn't want to tell officers who she was because she had 'done something really bad,' and suggested that officers could 'just Google' her name." Once her true identity was established, officers confirmed she was wanted in Wisconsin for escape. Both Geyser and the male companion were taken into custody without incident.
A Decade of Consequences: Revisiting the Slender Man Case
Geyser's recent escape adds another layer to a case that profoundly disturbed the public conscience. In May 2014, when she and her friend Anissa Weier were both 12 years old, they lured their classmate Payton Leutner into a wooded area in Waukesha, Wisconsin. There, Geyser stabbed Leutner a harrowing 19 times, with Weier actively encouraging the assault. Their motive: a chilling belief that this act would appease the fictional supernatural entity known as Slender Man. Miraculously, Leutner survived the brutal attack, managing to crawl out of the woods where she was discovered by a passing bicyclist. Medical professionals later confirmed that one of the stab wounds narrowly missed a major artery by less than a millimeter.
Both perpetrators were tried as adults and, in 2017, were found guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. Geyser was committed to the Winnebago Mental Health Institute for a 40-year term, while Weier received a 25-year commitment and was subsequently released in 2021.
Challenges of Reintegration and Lingering Concerns
Having spent seven years in psychiatric facilities, Geyser saw her conditional release approved by a judge earlier this year after four appeals, largely due to her documented progress in mental health treatment. However, her transition to a group home in Madison this fall was not without significant hurdles. Wisconsin health officials initially opposed her release, citing concerns over her undisclosed reading habits, which included a book about murder and organ sales, and her communication with a collector of murder memorabilia. Prosecutors also raised objections to the initial group home placement, citing its proximity to Leutner's residence.
Payton Leutner, who is now pursuing a career in the medical field, had previously shared her perspective in 2020. While she admitted to sleeping with broken scissors under her pillow for protection, she expressed no fear of Geyser's eventual release, stating confidently, "If she ever tried to come by me, she would go right back where she was." A revised release plan was ultimately approved in July, but finding a suitable placement proved challenging, with several group homes falling through due to various reasons, including public backlash, before she was finally settled in a court-sealed location this fall.
Geyser’s attorney, Tony Cotton, voiced concerns regarding her capacity to navigate new relationships post-release, specifically highlighting the potential for vulnerability to "older men who might not have her best interests in mind." He recounted witnessing during his 12 years representing her how "seemingly normal men would find their way into her orbit and act in ways that were highly inappropriate." As of now, it remains unclear whether Geyser left the group home voluntarily or if "something more nefarious took place such as abduction," according to Cotton. Investigations by both the Madison and Posen police departments are ongoing.
