In a startling turn of events, Morgan Geyser, the Wisconsin woman who became infamous for her involvement in the Slender Man stabbing case, has been located in Illinois following an escape from a group home. Authorities revealed that Geyser, now 23, managed to remove her electronic monitoring device before leaving the facility.

Madison police were quick to alert the public on Sunday after Geyser was last seen in the company of an adult acquaintance around 8 p.m. Saturday. The search culminated in her apprehension in Illinois later that day.

Confirmation of her capture came from the Posen Police Department early Monday. Geyser was discovered at a truck stop in Posen, a suburb approximately 25 miles south of Chicago and roughly 170 miles from Madison.

This incident follows Geyser’s conditional release to a group home earlier this year, after a stint at the Winnebago Mental Health Institute. Her confinement there began in 2018 when she entered a guilty plea to attempted first-degree intentional homicide. The plea agreement was part of a deal to sidestep a prison sentence, stemming from the notorious 2014 stabbing incident when she was just 12 years old.

Geyser was placed in a group home this year after being granted conditional release from the Winnebago Mental Health Institute. She was sent to the psychiatric institute in 2018 after pleading guilty to attempted first-degree intentional homicide in a deal with prosecutors to avoid prison. The stabbing happened in 2014.

Geyser’s attorney, Tony Cotton, said Sunday that he did not know what happened with his client and urged Geyser to turn herself in.

The Madison Police Department said Sunday that it was not made aware that Geyser was missing until nearly 12 hours after she left the group home. The state Department of Corrections received an alert Saturday night that Geyser’s ankle monitor had malfunctioned. The department contacted the group home where she lived about two hours later and was told she was not there and had removed the bracelet, Madison police said.

The Department of Corrections issued an apprehension request just after midnight. The Madison Police Department said it did not learn Geyser was missing until someone from the group home called the next morning. The corrections department did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Authorities say Geyser and her friend, Anissa Weier, also 12, lured their classmate, Payton Leutner, to a suburban Milwaukee park after a sleepover. Geyser stabbed Leutner more than a dozen times while Weier egged her on. Leutner barely survived.

The girls later told investigators that they attacked Leutner to earn the right to be Slender Man’s servants and they feared he’d harm their families if they didn’t follow through.

Slender Man was created online by Eric Knudson in 2009 as a mysterious figure photo-edited into everyday images of children at play. He grew into a popular boogeyman, appearing in video games, online stories and a 2018 movie.

Weier pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree intentional homicide. She was also sent to the psychiatric center and granted release in 2021.