Audrey Seiler
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Audrey Seiler
Audrey Seiler is a native of Rockford, Minnesota and a former University of Wisconsin student, who faked her own abduction in Madison, Wisconsin. At 2:30 a.m. on March 27, 2004 Seiler was seen on a surveillance camera leaving her apartment without her coat and purse, leaving her apartment door open, suggesting she expected to return quickly. Police initially investigated her disappearance as an abduction. She eventually admitted that the whole thing was a hoax and as of 2005 is paying monthly restitution (scheduled to total $9,000) to the Madison Police Department, which spent an estimated $100,000 on the case. The case was investigated with the help of the FBI and garnered attention from many national news sources (Fox News[1], CNN[2], CBS[3], the National Review[4]) as well as local papers (The Badger Herald[5]) and television stations (Channel 3000[6]). The morning news broadcasts on NBC, ABC, and CBS aired a combined 98 minutes of coverage, leaving some to ponder the existence of Missing White Woman Syndrome.
[edit] Background
- Audrey's father, Keith Seiler, said that his daughter, who was a communication disorders and speech pathology major, was “...very focused on academics,” He described her as a “non-drinker” and “not a partier” and said she studies a lot.
- The first "attack"- In February, Seiler reported being attacked while walking home late one weekend night on the 10 block of South Randall Street. She claimed she was struck in the head from behind and later regained consciousness behind a building on Bowen Court (2-3 blocks away). Nothing was stolen from her purse and she received treatment at a local hospital.
[edit] Events
- Saturday, March 27, 2004- Seiler left her apartment at The Regent at 2:30 a.m. Friends reported her missing later that day when she did not show up at a planned function. The search started in a limited fashion at around 2 p.m. and grew in intensity.
- Sunday, March 28, 2004-Chancellor Wiley and Provost Peter Spear of the University of Wisconsin-Madison sent an email to all students, faculty and staff. They asked for any information concerning Seiler's disappearance and told of the website they'd created to assist the investigation.
- Monday, March 29, 2004- Friends and family posted fliers in apartment buildings, on State Street and in other populated campus areas. K-9 Search and Rescue dogs started assisting in the search.
- Tuesday, March 30, 2004- Over 100 volunteers, including many residents of her hometown, searched wooded areas of town and Police went door to door to search for clues. Police also impounded Seiler's vehicle and checked her phone records. They did not yet know if the case was a homicide, a suicide, or a case of a runaway.
- Wednesday, March 31, 2004- Seiler was found in a marshy area near the State Department of Revenue building (nearly two miles from her apartment) by a state employee out for a lunch-time stroll. Seiler allegedly told this person that she goes to the marsh to relax. While being taken to a nearby hospital she told Police that she had been held hostage by a white male with a gun and a knife. She said he was in his late 20s or early 30s and was wearing a black sweatshirt, black hat and blue jeans. Police searched the area where she was found for clues. Audrey was released from the hospital into her parents' care later that night.
- Thursday, April 1, 2004- Police declined to say how Seiler escaped or whether she had been sexually assaulted. They interviewed Seiler more extensively later in the day, but did not release any new information to the public. They added to the profile of the suspect by saying that he was between 5'11" and 6', had chubby cheeks, a prominent chin, a small mouth with downturned corners and a long fleshy nose. Later that night in a TV interview, Madison Police Chief Nobel Wray said "Like in any other investigation, there may be inconsistencies; but we will continue to investigate." There had been much incredulity by Madison citizens and University students concerning Seiler's story, but this was the first acknowledgement (although guarded) by a public official that the suspect of the investigation might be Seiler.
- Friday, April 2, 2004- A local TV station reported that the woman who spotted Seiler in the marsh says she might have seen her there Tuesday as well, and perhaps Monday. Seiler told Police that she left her apartment to be alone and later was abducted at knifepoint from somewhere else in Madison. This was very divergent from her initial story and investigators were nearly certain that they were dealing with a hoax. Later that day Wray said that police did not believe Seiler was abducted at all and indicated that she might be prosecuted for obstruction of justice. He said that she had allegedly been sighted in Madison during the time she was supposedly being held hostage and that she'd done web searches about local forests and marshlands and extended weather forecasts. He also confirmed that she'd been filmed buying duct tape, a knife, a rope, and cold medication: items she claimed were used as part of her abduction. The expense of the case at this point was c. $70,000 excepting manpower and expenses of FBI and volunteer searchers. NBC News reported (friends and family later confirmed) that Seiler was at a psychiatric facility.
- Saturday, April 3, 2004- Amid criticism by media and others that the Madison Police Department had been fooled, department spokesman Larry Kamholz said "We can't take the chance that there's somebody still out there loose ... Suspicion was there but we didn't have enough to confirm that" The Seiler family hired high-profile Minneapolis attorney Randy Hopper. Hopper said that he, the family, and Seiler's friends would not speak to the media.
- April 7, 2004- Seiler returned home to Rockford, Minnesota
- April 8, 2004- The Seiler family asked the media and public to respect their privacy and asked their neighbors to turn down interview requests.
- April 12, 2004- Police obtained a warrant to search Seiler's cell phone and laptop. The most likely charge against her at this point was obstructing justice, a felony that could carry penalties of up to 3 1/2 years and $10,000.
- April 14, 2004- Seiler was charged with two misdemeanor counts of obstructing officers, each carrying up to a 9-month jail sentence plus a fine.
- April 15, 2004- Seiler's attorney said he would seek a plea bargain.
- June 10, 2004- Seiler reached a plea agreement (partial restitution of city expenses) on the two charges.
- June 22, 2004 Seiler's lawyer announced that she would enter a plea and be sentenced on July 1.
- July 1, 2004- Seiler pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of obstruction of justice and Judge James Martin sentenced her to three years probation and restitution fees of $9,000. The ruling also stipulated that if she gets a job earning more than $20,000 a year, she must pay $400 a month through her probation period. She also must continue to seek mental health help and perform 250 hours of community service with an organization that deals with missing children. Judge Martin also allowed the possibility for her record to be expunged. In her statement, Seiler attributed her actions to severe depression.
- July 31, 2004- Madison's Broom Street Theater started performances of "Audrey Seiler, Where Are You?" by John Sable. It is a play about the Audrey Seiler case and how it relates to popularity, the media, and the culture of the new millennium.
- August 9, 2004 Madison Police records were released revealing that police circulated the sketch of Seiler's "abductor" even though they had a suspicion it was a hoax. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune ran a more controversial headline stating that police circulated the sketch even though they knew the abduction was a hoax.
