Missing student found

MADISON, Wis. - A missing University of Wisconsin student was found alive and healthy Wednesday in a marsh near campus, four days after she vanished from her nearby apartment with no coat or purse.

Police gave few details on what happened to Audrey Seiler and would not say whether she had been abducted. But police were looking for a man they believed had a gun and a knife in the area where she was found.

Seiler, 20, was treated at a hospital and released after being there less than six hours. Dr. Philip Schultz said Seiler was cold and dehydrated and had muscle aches.

"Audrey is doing well. She's happy to be back," said her father, Keith Seiler. "Needless to say she's thrilled to be home again with her family and friends."

The discovery capped an intense search in which dozens of volunteers from Seiler's hometown slogged through marshes and woods around campus and investigators scoured phone records and apartments.

Officer Larry Kamholz said Seiler was found after an employee at a nearby office building called police to report what she thought was a body in the marsh less than 2 miles from Seiler's off-campus apartment.

Officers with weapons drawn searched the heavy brush, and a helicopter with heat sensors was brought in to aid the search.

Rejoicing residents tore down missing-person posters in Seiler's hometown of Rockford, Minn., a small town about 30 miles west of the Twin Cities.

"Right now it's just an unbelievable feeling," said Roman Pierskalla, principal of the high school in Rockford. "Today, the prayers of everyone in the Rockford community have been answered."

Seiler was last seen on a surveillance tape from her apartment building early Saturday morning. She apparently left without her car or personal belongings, and her door was left open.

Seiler was involved in another mysterious incident on Feb. 1, when she was struck from behind by an unknown assailant and knocked unconscious, police said. She was then moved about a block from where she was attacked but was not sexually assaulted or robbed, authorities said.

Police are unsure if there is a connection between Seiler's disappearance and the attack.

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