MADISON, Wis. – A college student who faked her abduction and set off a desperate search was sentenced to three years’ probation Thursday and ordered to repay the police department at least $9,000.
Audrey Seiler, 20, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of obstructing officers and read a statement in court in which she said severe depression had caused her to act irrationally.
“I’m taking care of myself now, so someday people will see I’m still a girl to be proud of,” Seiler said. The Rockford, Minn., woman withdrew from the University of Wisconsin-Madison after the incident and is in therapy.
After her March 27 disappearance, dozens of volunteers slogged through marshes and woods as national TV broadcast surveillance footage of her leaving her off-campus apartment late at night with no coat or purse.
She turned up four days later, curled in a fetal position in a marsh, and claiming she had been abducted at knifepoint.
Her story soon crumbled, and investigators said she faked the abduction because she was upset over her fading relationship with her boyfriend.
After obtaining a store videotape that showed her buying the knife, duct tape, rope and cold medicine she claimed her abductor used to restrain her, police concluded Seiler made up her abduction.
She could have gotten nine months in jail and a $10,000 fine on each of the two charges.
While on probation, she must reimburse the Police Department $250 a month, an amount that could increase to $400 a month if she graduates and gets a job.
Prosecutor Brian Blanchard said Seiler deliberately deceived police.
“She’s not in court today because she’s depressed. … She committed a series of selfish acts without regard for others,” he said.
But Seiler’s attorney, Randy Hopper, said she suffered a breakdown and had no idea what she was doing during the days she went missing.
“Everybody has different levels of coping skills. She probably discovered her coping skills weren’t what she hoped they’d be,” Hopper said.
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