College student faked her disappearance, police say

MADISON, Wis. - Police accused a college student of faking her disappearance Friday, saying she planted a knife in the marsh where she was found to make it appear she had been kidnapped.

"We don't think an abduction occurred," Madison police spokesman Larry Kamholz said.

University of Wisconsin sophomore Audrey Seiler, 20, was found cold and dehydrated but otherwise unharmed Wednesday in a marsh, four days after she disappeared. She told police she had been abducted from outside her apartment about 2 miles away, but surveillance video showed her walking out of the apartment wearing only sweats.

Investigators also obtained a videotape from weeks earlier showing Seiler buying the knife, duct tape, rope and cold medicine she claimed her abductor used to restrain her.

Assistant police Chief Noble Wray said Seiler used her computer to search Web sites for information about Madison parks and the extended weather forecast. In addition, he said, evidence indicated someone had used the computer during the four days she was missing, and at least two witnesses said they had seen her walking freely in the city.

Wray said it was too soon to say whether Seiler could face charges. Authorities are trying to construct a timeline of her movements, he said.

Seiler also reported an unexplained attack in early February, telling police someone struck her from behind and knocked her unconscious.

Police estimated costs for the intensive manhunt would exceed $70,000, said Melanie Conklin, a spokeswoman for Mayor David Cieslewicz.

Earlier Friday, Wray disclosed that Seiler changed her story. She said she left her apartment building because she wanted to be alone and was kidnapped by a man with a knife elsewhere in Madison.

Detectives continued to pick apart Seiler's story, and two hours later, Wray held another press conference to say police didn't believe her.

Kamholz said Seiler's father, Keith, said he feels bad about what police and everybody else went through, but was happy to have his daughter back.

Ryan Fisher, Seiler's boyfriend, had not noticed any signs that Seiler was unhappy or having problems, his brother David said.

"He didn't see this coming. But he says he loves her and wants to be there for her," David Fisher said.

Around Seiler's hometown of Rockford, Minn., stores displayed signs saying "Welcome Home Audrey." Yellow ribbons were tied to nearly every mailbox and fence post along her street, and pink ribbons decorated the nearby bridge across the Crow River.

Rockwell's Family Cafe owner Sue Elsen watched Madison police lay out Seiler's lies on live television - but didn't feel betrayed. She said she felt sorry for Seiler's family, even for Seiler.

"She's a lost little soul," Elsen said.

World and national headlines

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times 490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 Contact the Times | Privacy Policy Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright