Morgan Geyser, whose name became widely known after the 2014 Slender Man stabbing that shocked Wisconsin and drew national attention, was taken back into custody after fleeing a supervised group home in Madison, Wisconsin. Her apprehension unfolded across state lines, ending at a truck stop in Posen, Illinois, where police discovered her after she had removed her monitoring bracelet and gone on the run.
The incident has renewed focus on her case, her conditional release, and the lasting impact of a crime committed when she was just 12 years old. Her capture has also reignited public discussion about the origins of the Slender Man myth and the role it played in one of the most disturbing juvenile cases in recent American history. Geyser, now 23, had been living in the group home following a judge’s July decision to grant her conditional release from the Winnebago Mental Health Institute, where she had been confined since being sentenced to 40 years in a mental hospital in 2018.
Authorities said she fled on Saturday night after removing her court-ordered GPS bracelet. For several hours, police in Wisconsin classified her as missing and endangered. By Sunday, officers in Illinois found her sleeping on a sidewalk near a truck stop, accompanied by a 42-year-old man.
According to police, she refused to identify herself during initial questioning and even gave a false name before ultimately telling officers they could “just Google” her, saying she “had done something really bad.” Her comments immediately alerted police to her identity, and she was detained on a Wisconsin warrant. The man she was found with was later charged with trespassing and obstructing identification but was released. Geyser now faces the possibility of losing her conditional release, raising questions about whether she may be returned to a more secure psychiatric setting.
Background of the 2014 Slender Man Attack
The attack that placed Morgan Geyser at the center of national attention occurred in May 2014 in the Milwaukee suburb of Waukesha. At the time, she was 12 years old, as was Anissa Weier, her friend and co-defendant. The two lured their classmate, Payton Leutner, to a park after a sleepover. What followed was an attack that stunned the community: Geyser stabbed Leutner 19 times while Weier stood nearby, encouraging her to continue. The injuries were severe, and the victim was left in critical condition.
She managed, however, to crawl toward a nearby path where a passing cyclist discovered her and summoned help. Despite the near-fatal wounds, Leutner survived, and her account became central in understanding the motivations behind the attack. Investigators, attorneys, and mental-health experts ultimately determined that both girls believed they were acting to appease Slender Man, an online horror figure that originated in a 2009 internet forum challenge on the website SomethingAwful.
In online posts, myths, and “creepypasta” stories, Slender Man is depicted as a tall, thin, faceless figure in dark clothing who may possess supernatural abilities. Geyser and Weier claimed they believed Slender Man would harm their families if they did not kill their classmate. Their attorneys later argued that both girls suffered from delusions, with Geyser’s defense emphasizing her diagnosis of early-onset schizophrenia.
Slender Man Stabber Morgan Geyser, 23, Captured Sleeping at Illinois Truck Stop
— Police Incidents (@PoliceIncident) November 26, 2025
In May 2014, 12-year-old Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier stabbed their Waukesha, Wisconsin, classmate Payton Leutner 19 times in a wooded area. The attack, motivated by a desire to appease the… pic.twitter.com/rZcyyKJFpW
The psychological issues raised during the case were a major factor in her sentencing, which placed her in a secure mental health facility rather than a traditional correctional institution. Both Geyser and Weier were tried in adult court due to the severity of the crime. Geyser pleaded guilty to first-degree intentional homicide in exchange for a plea that spared her the possibility of extended prison time but required psychiatric treatment.
In 2018, the judge overseeing the case sentenced her to 40 years in a mental hospital. Weier, who encouraged the attack but did not wield the knife, was convicted of attempted second-degree intentional homicide and sentenced to 25 years in a psychiatric facility. She was released in 2021 under extended supervision, though she remains monitored and subject to strict conditions.
Geyser’s Conditional Release and Flight from the Group Home
After years of treatment, Morgan Geyser petitioned the court for conditional release. In July, the court agreed, concluding that the structure of a supervised group home, combined with continued mental health treatment and monitoring, could provide an appropriate level of support. As part of her release, she wore a GPS tracking bracelet, participated in mandated therapy, and was required to follow strict rules governing her movements and activities.
Her disappearance began late Saturday when supervisors discovered that she had removed the monitoring device, prompting an immediate alert to law enforcement. Authorities treated her departure as a breach of release terms, and given her psychological history and the nature of her original crime, Wisconsin police issued notices requesting the public’s assistance while cautioning against approaching her. By Sunday morning, the search expanded beyond Wisconsin’s borders.
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Police in Posen, Illinois, encountered Geyser after responding to calls about a man and woman loitering near a truck stop just south of Chicago. Officers reported finding the pair asleep on the sidewalk. When questioned, she refused repeatedly to identify herself, at one point providing an alias. After further prompting, she admitted she did not want to reveal her identity because she “had done something really bad.”
When officers pressed her further, she told them to “just Google” her name—a statement that ultimately confirmed suspicions about who she was. She was taken into custody without incident. Her companion, a 42-year-old man whose relationship to her remains unclear, was charged with trespassing and obstructing identification but later released. Police have not said whether he knew anything about her past or her flight from Wisconsin. Geyser, meanwhile, was held while Wisconsin authorities prepared to retrieve her and evaluate the next steps in her supervision.
Her conditional release will almost certainly be reevaluated. Under the terms of such releases, leaving a facility without authorization can be grounds for immediate revocation. Judges typically consider the risk to the public, the individual’s mental health status, and their compliance with treatment. Geyser’s disappearance will likely be interpreted as a significant breach of the court’s trust in her ability to manage supervised freedom safely.
Slender Man and Its Influence on the Case
The Slender Man figure played a central and disturbing role in the 2014 stabbing, but the character itself is a product of internet fiction rather than any real-world belief system. Created in 2009 by a Florida resident responding to a challenge for eerie digital artwork, Slender Man quickly became a staple of internet horror culture. His image—a tall, faceless, dark-suited figure often standing ominously in the background of manipulated photos—circulated widely in forums, blogs, and social media.
Over time, layers of mythos developed, including claims that he possessed tentacle-like appendages, the ability to stalk children, or the power to influence the minds of those who saw him. Creepypasta stories, which are short online horror tales, helped spread the character’s notoriety. These stories often present fictional horror content as if it were grounded in reality, contributing to the unsettling appeal for younger readers.
For most, Slender Man remained a fictional entertainment figure. However, in the Geyser and Weier case, prosecutors and mental health specialists concluded that the girls became deeply immersed in the stories, interpreting them literally and believing their families were in danger if they did not act.
During court proceedings, Geyser’s defense emphasized her diagnosis of schizophrenia, arguing that her delusions were exacerbated by her age and emotional vulnerability. The case drew attention not only to the dangers of internet folklore for impressionable young readers but also to the complexities of juvenile mental health and how a combination of psychological conditions and external influences can lead to catastrophic outcomes.
In response to the stabbing, SomethingAwful and other sites hosting creepypasta content issued statements emphasizing the fictional nature of their stories. They urged readers not to imitate or internalize any violent themes associated with the Slender Man myth. While the character continues to exist in online culture, the events of 2014 permanently altered public perceptions of the figure and led to increased discussions among parents, educators, and mental-health professionals about online content consumption among children and adolescents.
Morgan Geyser’s recent flight from supervised care and her capture in Illinois highlight both how far she has come from the events of 2014 and how precarious her situation remains. Her case continues to be shaped by legal oversight, psychiatric evaluation, and the long shadow cast by a crime committed in childhood that remains indelibly etched into public memory.