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Police: Seiler’s abduction a hoax
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Friday, April 2, 2004
Madison Police say they have found inconsistencies in University of Wisconsin sophomore Audrey Seiler’s story after she admitted she was not abducted from her apartment. Madison Police are not pursuing an armed suspect that could have abducted Seiler four days before her finding.
At a press conference Friday afternoon, police chief Noble Wray said the Madison police department obtained additional information leading investigators to believe Seiler’s story was bogus.
“[We believe] Audrey Seiler was not abducted at knife point,” Wray said at the press conference. “We do not believe that there is a suspect at large, period.”
Wray pointed out several “inconsistencies” in Seiler’s statement about her abduction from her Regent apartment Saturday morning, and then her added testimony saying she was not abducted from her apartment but at the marsh in southern Madison where she was found.
“We are committed and compelled to investigate all leads,” Wray said, adding it is the police department’s duty to do so for Seiler herself, her family and the community.
Wray said it was worth noting Seiler left from a video surveillanced door at the Regent, where there are at least two other doors at the residence hall that do not have video cameras.
Police also said items found at the marsh – a knife, a roll of duct tape, rope and some cold medicine, could easily be purchased at a local convenient store. Police added they have obtained store surveillance tapes dated prior to Seiler’s disappearance where she reportedly purchased these items.
A clerk at the Your Open Pantry at 1401 Regent Street and across the street from the Regent, wished not to be identified, but said police did seize their security tapes.
“Everything on that list [of items found at the scene], we have here,” the clerk told the Badger Herald, adding it is quite possible they were bought at the convenience store.
Seiler said these objects were used against her and a doctor at St. Mary’s Hospital said she did not sustain any noticeable injuries but said she was recovering from being constrained. Wray countered this by saying the doctor’s statements were not part of Madison’s ongoing investigation.
Wray also said there are two witnesses who’ve seen Audrey walking around Madison, where she told police she was held against her will. Wray also said that Seiler’s computer’s history showed a user looked up a five-day weather forecast, and searched the Internet for “marshy” and “wooded” areas around Madison before her disappearance.
The police have also found that her computer’s log indicates someone or some persons used Seiler’s computer in her room since Saturday. Though Wray did not say the police have obtained any evidence Seiler returned to her Regent apartment, he did says they did not rule it out. Wray admitted police were not stationed at her personal apartment during the citywide search for Seiler; and due to the fact some entrances do not have security cameras, one could slip into the Regent relatively undetected.
Wray said police are still investigating the incident, and did not rule out filing charges against Seiler in the future.
Seiler, though police have debunked her story, has not “admitted to” lying about an abduction at this time.
“It’s still too early,” Wray said. “We have been in contact with the district attorney.”
Wray did not draw a direct connection to Seiler’s apparently false story with a February incident where she reported she was struck in the back of the head, knocked unconscious and regained composure at a different location.
UW Dean of Students Luoluo Hong released a statement, stating her commitment and support to Seiler, her family and friends through this “trying time.”
However, she added students take responsibility for themselves.
“While we do not condone the behavior attributed to Audrey by the Madison Police Department, we fully understand that people communicate their need for help in many different ways,” Hong said in her statement.
Hong said all or any students having problems or feel the need of counseling can use the numerous resources UW has to offer, including staff in the dean’s office, academic staff, advisors and house fellows in the residence halls.
