Seiler home but not talking (fake kidnap in Wisconsin)

[Hoss68]

Associated Press
April 8, 2004SEILER09

Audrey Seiler was back home on Thursday, but she wasn't talking. And her neighbors made it clear they were tired of talking, too.

Seiler, 20, the University of Wisconsin student who staged her own disappearance, returned home to Rockford and spoke with several dozen neighbors Wednesday night. The pink and yellow ribbons that were tied to trees and mailboxes on her cul-de-sac after she disappeared where still up.

Next-door neighbor Ken Kraft was in the crowd. He told WCCO-AM that Seiler seemed happy to be home after the incident, which drew heavy national media attention.

``She was very happy to see everyone, her friends and family, and so, yes, I would say she was just glad to be out of the situation for a little bit, anyways,'' Kraft said.

But when reporters arrived Thursday, they found a sign hung on Kraft's door: ``No more reporters please. We would like our privacy back in the neighborhood. Thanks.''

Keith Seiler, Audrey's father, told two reporters to leave his property Thursday when they tried to interview him.

``I wish you would respect other people's privacy,'' he said. ``There's nothing here for you to report on.''

None of the Seilers' immediate neighbors answered their doors Thursday. At a house farther down the circle, one woman who just arrived home declined to comment but asked that the family be left alone.

``We've instructed everybody on the block not to speak with you,'' Keith Seiler told the reporters.

Audrey Seiler disappeared from her apartment in Madison, Wis., March 27 and was found in a nearby marsh on March 31, when she told police a man with a knife and possibly a gun was in the area.

The story got intense coverage regionally and on the national television network morning shows, which spent more than twice as much time on the Seiler case as on any other story during that period.

NBC's ``Today'' led the way with 29 minutes, and even sent news anchor Ann Curry to Wisconsin to follow the case.

Seiler's claim she was kidnapped touched off a major manhunt, which authorities said accounted for the most of money they spent on the search. Those costs could reach $100,000.

After she surfaced, police said her story fell apart under close questioning. Seiler has been under a doctor's care since police announced the abduction was a hoax. It's still not clear why she did it or where she went.

In Madison, Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard has said he could make a decision about filing charges against Seiler by the end of the week.

A call to the Seilers' lawyer, Randy Hopper, was not immediately returned Thursday.

[Woodmonkey]

I was hoping you'd post something about this, LA. You're in the state, what do you think about it?

I hope they charge her. That rescue effort and the investigation cost the taxpayers a lot of money. It really bothers me that people who get away with faking kidnapping cost real victims. If another kidnapping happens in that area, how quick will law enforcement or volunteer be to respond? I'm betting that they'll do their jobs and people will still volunteer, but will wonder in the back of their minds if it's all another fake.

We had a teenager do that same thing here in my area. When another girl disappeared who was about the same age, there were comments of..."oh yeah?"

[cb88]

That's exactly it, WM...it makes people care less the next time it happens.


We JUST had that same thing happen here about the same time (a week or two ago) two girls (in the early 20's) locked themselves in a trunk outside Fort Worth and then called from their cell phone and said they'd been carjacked...had 3 helios, the Fort Worth police, Tarrant County and the civil patrol looking for them. Well, of course they used the cell and triangulated the signal and found them (not at any small cost I"m sure). But when they started interviewing the girls separately, their stories didn't jive. You think after 3 hours in a trunk you'd be able to memorize the right story...anyhow...they cracked...turns out their boyfriends just dumped them and they were trying to get attention, wanted their boyfriends to feel sorry for them.

Now those, my friends, are drama queens.

Personally, I hope they throw the book at them and make them pay for all of the police time, rescue time, etc.

[Woodmonkey]

Three helocopters??? That alone was well into the many thousands of dollars. Add police, county cops and civil patrol....

Personally, I hope they throw the book at them and make them pay for all of the police time, rescue time, etc.

Me too. Keep us posted if you hear more?

[cb88]

Originally Posted by Woodmonkey

Three helocopters??? That alone was well into the many thousands of dollars. Add police, county cops and civil patrol....




Me too. Keep us posted if you hear more?

I was looking for something to link to. They were talking about it on the radio because it happend almost the same time as this girl from Wisconsin.

[cb88]

Here we go (I can only get snippits b/c the dang Ft. Worth Star-Telegram thinks they are the NY Times and can charge $2.95 an article)


Woman says drugs led to kidnap hoax

Source: ALEX BRANCHStar-Telegram Staff Writer
FORT WORTH--One of two women accused of faking a kidnapping by locking themselves in a car trunk apologized Wednesday for the hoax that she said resulted from a night of drug use. "I had taken a lot of Xanax that night," Rebecca "Nicole" Watson said. "Then I woke up in the trunk. I really don't know why we did it." Watson, 20, surrendered to authorities Wednesday on a misdemeanor count of filing a false report to a peace officer. She

Published on April 1, 2004, Page 1B, Fort Worth Star-Telegram (TX)


Police say women got inside car trunk, faked an abduction

Source: BILL TEETERStar-Telegram Staff Writer
FORT WORTH--Dozens of police officers were mobilized early Wednesday morning after a 911 call was received from two women who said they had been abducted and were calling from a cellphone inside a car trunk. The women were found on a boat ramp at Lake Worth after a search that lasted more than an hour. By late afternoon, police announced that the women's story was bogus. They were not arrested, but they may face criminal charges, said Lt. Dean Sullivan, a

Published on March 25, 2004, Page 1B, Fort Worth Star-Telegram (TX)

[Woodmonkey]

Thanks, cb. I hope these women get charged.