The Madison Police Department began investigating the disappearance of University of Wisconsin sophomore Audrey Seiler as a hoax before Seiler was found Wednesday, police said at a press conference Saturday.

Madison Police answered questions Saturday regarding the Seiler case. Officer Larry Kamholz said the department began investigating the case as a hoax before Seiler was found but continued to refer to the case as a “missing person” and search for a possible abductor.

Kamholz would not disclose exactly when the case started to be investigated as a hoax. Kamholz also refused to comment as to whether Seiler may have had an accomplice.

Seiler was alone when she bought rope, duct tape, a knife and cold medicine, items she said were used to abduct her and that were later found in the marsh where she was found.

The Seiler family has hired well-known Minneapolis attorney Randy Hopper with the law firm Zimmerman Reed. Hopper was a litigator in the national anti-tobacco lawsuits and is advising the family and friends of Seiler’s to not speak with media. Hopper teaches a seminar at the Minnesota Institute of Legal Education titled “Dealing with the Media.”

The investigation is being reported to have cost more than $75,000.

Seiler could face felony charges of obstruction if she lied to an officer of the court. She could also face a misdemeanor charge of obstruction if she lied to a police officer.

Krista Ralston, a clinical professor of law and the director of The Legal Defense Program, said district attorney Brian Blanchard ultimately has the power to press charges. She could not speculate as to whether or not Blanchard will decide to take legal action or if the media and national attention the case has received will have any effect on his decision.

Charges could also be pressed in federal court if Seiler lied to any federal officials, Ralston said.

“It appears any criminal complaint that would come would be from Dane County,” she said.

The district attorney’s office would not make any comments regarding Seiler’s case.

UW sophomore Kendall Garrison said he thinks the district attorney should press charges against Seiler.

“She wasted a lot of resources, and she should be punished for that,” Garrison said. “She also caused the community a lot of distress.”

Every action of the Madison Police Department has been scrutinized, especially since the case has garnered national media attention. Some people are upset the police did not release crucial information in a timely fashion, but others believe the department had good reasons for handling the case in the manner they did.

“They had to take a cautious approach and give her the benefit of the doubt,” Garrison said.

Garrison also believes the “Patty” case had an impact in the way police pursed the investigation.

In the “Patty” case, police accused a Madison woman known as “Patty” of making up a story about being sexually assaulted in 1997. Later DNA evidence identified state prisoner Joseph Bong as a suspect. Bong was convicted of the rape after a trial last March.

“They were burned once, and in a case of this magnitude, I am sure they didn’t want to get burned again,” Garrison said, noting that being in the national spotlight also influenced the investigation.

The Wisconsin State Journal reported Saturday Seiler is receiving psychiatric treatment at a Madison hospital.

Gregory Van Rybroek, director of the Mendota Mental Health Institute, could not comment on Seiler’s case specifically but said if Seiler is in a hospital, it is because she has voluntarily entered or the court or police have deemed her dangerous to herself or others. Something other than what the public knows would have had to happen for the court to have ordered Seiler to a hospital.

Dean of students Luoluo Hong said in an interview with The Badger Herald Sunday the university is doing everything it can to help Seiler finish the semester. She did not rule out the possibility of disciplinary action from the university, however.

Ralston could not comment on whether or not it would help or hurt Seiler’s case if her friends or family spoke with the media before charges are filed because Ralston had been asked by Hong not to comment on details of the Seiler case.

UW junior Alison Olfert, a friend of Seiler, did not want to discuss the case at this time.

One of Seiler’s resident assistants at The Regent, Justin Hobson, said he now has to focus on the 70 other residents he is in charge of and is hoping things can return to normal quickly.