Authorities have located Morgan Geyser, the woman convicted in the infamous “Slender Man” stabbing, after she cut off her GPS monitoring bracelet and fled a Wisconsin group home over the weekend. Geyser, now 23, was taken into custody in Illinois, ending a multistate search that raised new questions about her supervision, mental health history, and the lingering cultural impact of the Slender Man mythos.
Geyser Cut Off Her Monitor and Disappeared
Police say Geyser walked away from her Madison group home on Saturday night and met up with an acquaintance on a quiet residential street. Before leaving, she allegedly removed her electronic monitoring bracelet, which was used to track her after her release from the Winnebago Mental Health Institute, where she spent nearly seven years.
Late Sunday, Madison Police confirmed Geyser was found asleep at a Posen, Illinois truck stop, roughly 150 miles from Madison. She was with another person, whose identity has not been released. Both were taken into custody.
Her attorney, Tony Cotton, publicly urged her to surrender, saying, “We worked too hard to secure her freedom for her to continue on this path.”
Authorities are still investigating how she managed to escape the group home and who may have assisted her.
What Is Slender Man?
Slender Man, a tall, faceless figure often depicted in a dark suit with tentacle-like appendages, originated online in 2009. The character emerged from a Photoshop paranormal image contest on the website Something Awful and grew into a viral internet legend categorized as “creepypasta”—fictional horror stories spread across the internet.
According to University of Georgia professor Shira Chess, co-author of Folklore, Horror Stories, and the Slender Man, the character flourished because “his facelessness made him a blank canvas” for fans to reinterpret.
Though his popularity peaked in the mid-2010s, Slender Man still exists as a playground boogeyman and cultural reference point.
More information on creepypasta culture can be found via the Know Your Meme archive (hyperlink: Know Your Meme official website), which tracks the character’s evolution.
The 2014 Slender Man Stabbing: How the Attack Happened
In May 2014, Geyser and friend Anissa Weier, both 12 at the time, lured their classmate Payton Leutner to a wooded park in Waukesha, Wisconsin. The girls later told investigators they believed killing Leutner would make them “proxies” of Slender Man and protect their families from harm.
Leutner described the night to ABC News years later:
- The girls had a sleepover for Geyser’s birthday.
- Geyser spoke obsessively about Slender Man.
- After abandoning their original plan to stab her in her sleep, they convinced Leutner to play hide-and-seek in the woods.
- There, Geyser stabbed her repeatedly with a kitchen knife.
Badly wounded and left alone, Leutner crawled to a bike path where a passing cyclist saved her life by calling 911.
What Happened to Geyser and Weier?
Geyser pleaded guilty at age 15 to attempted first-degree intentional homicide and was committed to a mental institution rather than prison. In 2018, she apologized in court, telling Leutner’s family: “I never meant this to happen.”
Weier pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree homicide due to mental illness and was committed for 25 years. She was conditionally released in 2021 but must comply with strict monitoring, according to the Associated Press (hyperlink: Associated Press official site).
A judge approved Geyser’s gradual release earlier in 2025, allowing her to transition to monitored community living.
Geyser’s Living Situation Before Her Escape
In recent months, Geyser lived in a supervised group home in Madison. A facility in Sun Prairie declined to accept her due to public backlash, according to WMTV, leading to her relocation.
Police say Geyser was last seen Saturday night near the same street where the group home is located. Hours later, she had traveled across state lines.
Her escape—and swift recapture—has renewed public debate over the continued risks, supervision, and treatment frameworks for individuals involved in violent crimes attributed to mental illness during adolescence.
Investigators are expected to release more information about potential charges and next steps in her case.
