‘Just Google me’: Morgan Geyser, the attacker who stabbed ‘Slender Man,’ allegedly told cops they caught her

When she was captured Sunday night, nearly 200 miles from the Wisconsin group home she allegedly fled from, Morgan Geyser, the assailant who stabbed “Slender Man,” told officers who asked for her identity to “just Google it,” according to Illinois police.

Geyser, 22, who in 2014 stabbed a friend 19 times to appease the fictional character “Slender Man,” was located Sunday after she allegedly cut off her Department of Corrections monitoring bracelet and left the group home where she had been a resident, authorities said.

Geyser was detained at a truck stop in Posen, Illinois, with a 42-year-old man she had crossed state lines with, according to a statement from the Posen Police Department released Monday. Police found the couple sleeping on a sidewalk, according to the release.

“The woman repeatedly refused to give her real name and initially gave a false one,” police said. “After continued attempts to identify her, she finally stated that she did not want to tell the officers who she was because she had ‘done something really bad’ and suggested that the officers could ‘just Google’ her name.”

Once she provided her real name, officers learned she was wanted for running away in Wisconsin. Both Geyser and his partner were taken into custody without incident, police said.

According to police, Geyser’s traveling companion, whose name was not released, was charged with criminal trespassing and obstructing identification. He has since been released and authorities provided no information about his involvement in Geyser’s escape from the group home.

Posen police said the couple took a bus to Posen from Wisconsin. Posen is about 25 minutes south of Chicago.

Before being located, Geyser was last seen in Madison, Wisconsin, around 8 p.m. Saturday with an adult acquaintance, Madison police said in a statement posted to social media, which included a recent surveillance image of Geyser.

“Geyser will be held pending transfer to Cook County for an extradition hearing at 26th and California,” the department said, referring to the criminal court administration building in Chicago. It was not immediately clear when that hearing would take place.

Before her daughter’s arrest, Geyser’s mother, Angie Geyser, said in a statement to ABC News on Sunday: “If you see Morgan, call the police. Morgan, if you can see this, we love you and we just want to know that you are safe.”

Geyser’s attorney, Tony Cotton, also issued a statement Sunday to ABC News asking Geyser to turn herself in, saying doing so was “in her best interest.”

In March, the Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Michael Bohren ordered Geyser released from Winnebago Mental Health Institute and sent to a group home after three psychologists testified that she was ready for supervised release.

As part of his release, Geyser was ordered to wear a monitoring bracelet.

Geyser, according to police, cut off his Department of Corrections monitoring bracelet and left the group home sometime Saturday night.

Geyser and another girl, Anissa Weier, were charged as adults and pleaded guilty to stabbing a classmate, Payton Leutner, 19 times in 2014, when they and the victim were 12 years old. Geyser and Weier’s guilty pleas were later vacated when they were found not guilty by reason of mental illness or defect. Both were later sent to psychiatric institutions.

“Payton Leutner and her family are aware of the latest situation regarding Morgan Geyser,” a spokesperson for the Leutner family said in a statement to ABC News. “Payton and her family are safe and are working closely with local authorities to ensure their continued safety.”

“The family wants to thank all of he law enforcement entities involved in efforts to apprehend Morgan,” the statement continued. “The Leutner family would also like to thank the outpouring of support from family, friends and supporters who have reached out to them during this difficult time.”

In January, Judge Bohren ordered the state Department of Health Services to develop a plan for Geyser’s supervised release.

Geyser was moved in March from the Winnebago mental health facility to a group home despite concerns raised by prosecutors, who alleged she had “violent” communication with a man outside the facility and had read a book at the facility with “themes of sexual sadism and murder.”

In 2014, Geyser and Weier lured their friend, Payton Leutner, then 12, into the woods in Waukesha, Wisconsin, where Geyser stabbed Leutner while Weier watched.

Geyser and Weier left Leutner alone in the forest. Wounded and bleeding, Leutner pulled herself to safety and was rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Leutner survived the attack that captured headlines around the world after Geyser and Weier claimed the stabbing was intended to please “Slender Man,” a faceless Internet-based fictional character who gained a cult following.

Geyser pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree intentional homicide and was sent to Winnebago Mental Health Institute in 2018. Geyser was later found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect and was sentenced to up to 40 years in a psychiatric institution.

Weier was also found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect after pleading guilty to a lesser charge. She was sentenced to up to 25 years in a psychiatric institution. In 2021, at the age of 19, Weier was granted supervised release.

In an interview with ABC’s “20/20” in October 2019, Leutner said he had worked hard to recover from the attack and rebuild a normal life. She told ABC News she was ready to reclaim her story.

“I’ve come to terms with all the scars I have,” Leutner said in the exclusive interview with ABC’s David Muir. “It’s just a part of me. I don’t think about them much. They’ll probably disappear and fade over time.”

ABC News Victory Arkansasold, jason Wolack, Jolloh Mariama and Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.