MISSING-STUDENT CASE Woman was seeking attention, report says

The student was depressed over her boyfriend, the criminal complaint says.
MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL
MADISON, Wis. -- The University of Wisconsin-Madison sophomore accused of faking her own abduction last month had been depressed in the preceding days and was seeking extra attention from her longtime boyfriend, according to a criminal complaint filed Wednesday.
That portrait of Audrey Seiler's state of mind emerged in the complaint that charges Seiler, 20, with two misdemeanor counts of obstructing officers.
Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard said Seiler faced the charges for "intentionally and repeatedly [providing] false information to police about the circumstances of her recent disappearance."
The 16-page complaint provides details of the relationship between Seiler and longtime boyfriend Ryan Fisher, the elaborate stories Seiler told police about being abducted and some of the inconsistencies that emerged.
When police initially confronted Seiler with evidence of those inconsistencies, she conceded that she had "set up everything," began to cry and said, "I know you think I can't handle Ryan or my grades, but I can."
Later, she told them, "If this is what I did by myself, it would wreck my life," then added, "I want so much for my life to be perfect. All I want is the thing that I want and things to be right."
Maximum penalty
Blanchard said Seiler's conduct didn't meet the standard for felony obstruction; each of the misdemeanor counts carries a maximum penalty of nine months in jail and a $10,000 fine.
Seiler's attorney, Randy Hopper, could not immediately be reached for comment. He is expected to represent Seiler in her initial court appearance, scheduled for today.
Seiler disappeared from her off-campus apartment March 27 and was found March 31 in a marshy area after an intense search by friends and family from her hometown of Rockford, Minn. The jubilant celebration after her discovery was clouded two days later when police said they thought she had planned to fake her own abduction.
Obstructing officers
The criminal complaint alleges Seiler obstructed officers on two occasions:
UOn March 31, the day she was discovered, Seiler intentionally made false statements to police officers saying that she had been abducted from her apartment at knife-point.
UOn April 1, the day she first spoke with investigators at length about her disappearance, Seiler made more false statements about being abducted at another location in Madison after voluntarily leaving her apartment.
Blanchard said investigators have concluded Seiler acted alone and didn't receive any help from friends.
The police investigation is estimated to have cost the city of Madison about $100,000. Acting city attorney James Voss said city officials don't have any plans to file civil charges to recoup any of those costs, largely because it can't find any law on which to base them.
Failing relationship
The complaint paints a troubled and waning relationship between Seiler and longtime boyfriend Fisher, a UW-Madison freshman who is also from Rockford, Minn. Fisher could not immediately be reached to comment. University officials said he has withdrawn from school.
Friends of Seiler and Fisher told police their relationship was "up and down" and the two "fight often," the complaint says. Her mother, Stephanie Seiler, said Seiler "hadn't been herself" in recent weeks and had been "extremely needy of Ryan." And Seiler's roommate, Heather Thue, told one of Seiler's childhood friends that Seiler had been depressed and emerged from her bedroom crying "all the time."
Seiler's computer also yielded evidence that she was checking up on Fisher and was concerned about his relationship with another woman. Records from Seiler's computer indicate someone using her laptop logged into Fisher's e-mail accounts. On March 24, her laptop was used to download two e-mails, written March 22, with romantic overtones between Fisher and a person identified by the initials "T.S."