Remember Audrey Seiler?

[Ariel Wanna-be]

She was the college student (from Wisconsin maybe?) who faked her abduction a few years ago to get attention from her boyfriend.

I'm watching a documentary on Court TV right now, and while I remember most of the story, I don't know the whole ending. I think she was ordered to pay $9,000 in restitution to the police department. Their search/investigation cost the city $97,000.

So basically, she got a slap on the wrist, right? Or do I not know of another punishment she was given?

There are "experts" on the documentary right now who are saying "poor little thing, she just didn't have the coping skills to deal with her boyfriend's wandering eye, yadda yadda yadda" and "well, technically, it's not against the law to go buy duct tape and a knife and then leave your apartment as if you were abducted."

Anyone know more on the story? Why wasn't she ordered to pay for the whole dang investigation?

 

[EMom]

I think if you pull this crap, you ought to have to pay back every cent. We, the taxpayers, have to pay for little hissy fits like hers. I don't appreciate it. Grow up and deal with your good-for-nothing boyfriend like a woman and leave us, the police and our pocketbooks out of it.

I don't know if she got any other punishment such as jail time. I think she deserved some for all the grief she caused. What if this guy had wound up going to jail? At a minimum, he was probably wrongfully looked at as a potential kidnapper/murderer for a while. What if he had some mother or old granny whose heart couldn't handle the stress? What a selfish witch! And what about HER family? Didn't her parents sit around unable to sleep, wondering if their child was dead or alive? Who pulls that sick kind of trick? I say throw the book at her and send a message out to the other potential game-players.

 

[BuckyFan04]

I don't remember what other consequences there were for her little stunt, but I agree that she should have paid for all of the expenses she incurred. She lied to the police (in addition to everyone else) which is a crime, even if "buying duct tape, etc., and leaving your apartment" is not.

The whole campus was talking about her disappearance, worrying and hoping that she was alright. Meanwhile, we were all worried about her "abductor" loose near or possibly on campus. Police and many, many volunteers literally combed the fields for her, and there were helicopters out searching for her for a week, or however long she was "missing" for. She was plastered all over the local and national news.

I think a month or two before that happened, she claimed that she was mugged on the street, and that was a little blurb on the news when that happened. That was also a lie....

When it came out that she was found, of course everyone was very relieved, but it just turned into a big joke after that, and it was embarrassing to the UW, in addition to being a very costly and emotional affair.

I really felt bad for her family and friends having to suffer through that.

Edit: It appears that as of July 4, 2007 she had finished paying off the $9,000 to the Madison Police Dept. She also had to do 250 hours of community service, 3 years probation and mental counseling. http://www.gazetteextra.com/seiler070507.asp

 

[Ariel Wanna-be]

...When it came out that she was found, of course everyone was very relieved, but it just turned into a big joke after that, and it was embarrassing to the UW, in addition to being a very costly and emotional affair.

I really felt bad for her family and friends having to suffer through that.

I thought about that after I saw the documentary - how incredibly embarassed and ashamed her parents must have been (once they got over their initial joy/relief that she was found).

What bothers me most about stories like hers and Jennifer Whats-her-name (the one who lied about being abducted because she was trying to get out of a wedding) is that when someone is *really* abducted, there will always be that little seed of doubt.