'Slender Man' stabber Morgan Geyser nearly killed her best friend. 11 years later, she vanished.

It's a story that sounds almost too far-fetched to believe.

Three 12-year-old girls go to a sleepover. One ends up stabbed 19 times by her two best friends.

She's left bleeding out, crawling to the road for help, and surviving against all odds.

Meanwhile, the two perpetrators, deep into their delusion, head into the woods to find their 'leader', Slender Man.

They get tried as adults, both get locked up in mental hospitals, and eventually are released into the community.

Now, 11 years on, one of the perpetrators — Morgan Geyser — has gone missing.

Here's what we know.

What is the Slender Man stabbing?

In the 2010s, the Slender Man inched his way into every rogue corner of the internet. The terrifyingly tall supernatural character originated as an internet meme who scared, abducted and traumatised children, but in 2014, Slender Man became horrifyingly real.

On May 31, 2014, the morning after a sleepover party, Morgan Geyser, Anissa Weier and Payton Leutner headed to their local park. The three friends were students at Milwaukee's Horning Middle School in Wisconsin.

Geyser and Leutner had been friends first, but in the sixth grade Geyser and Weier had become closer, obsessing over Slender Man.

The pair devised a plan to become 'proxies' for Slender Man, per the New York Times report, with Leutner to be sacrificed to the horror figure, whom they believed lived in the woods in Northern Wisconsin.

The pair 'chickened out' on their plans multiple times throughout the sleepover.

Travelling to the park, Payton was walking ahead as Morgan and Anissa dropped behind. It was at this moment that Morgan revealed to Anissa what she was hiding under her jacket: a kitchen knife with a black handle.

Once they arrived at the park, Anissa suggested the friends play hide-and-seek, with Morgan counting.

It was then that Anissa attempted to tackle Payton. Things quickly escalated as Morgan brought out the knife.

"I'm not going to until you tell me to," Morgan whispered to Anissa.

"Go ballistic, go crazy," Anissa responded.

Watch the trailer for Slender Man Stabbing: The Untold Story here. Post continues below.

Morgan stabbed Payton 19 times, missing a major artery near her heart by just the width of a human hair.

Police described the scene at the time, "One suspect held down the victim while the other suspect stabbed the victim 19 times in the arms, legs and torso.

"Many of the stab wounds hit major organs, but incredibly and thankfully, the victim survived this brutal assault."

Morgan and Anissa washed themselves of Payton’s blood in the Walmart bathrooms. They then set out for the woods.

'The Slender Man' and a young girl. Image: ABC.

Payton was left to bleed out in a ditch outside the park. Despite barely being able to speak, the then-12-year-old crawled to a nearby path where she was found by a passing cyclist.

Miraculously, she managed to survive the attack.

Morgan and Anissa, who were also 12 years old at the time, were found miles away from the crime scene, walking on the side of the road. They told police that they attempted to kill Payton to protect their families from Slender Man.

They said they believed that once the murder was carried out, they would prove their loyalty to Slender Man and serve as his servants in his mansion, which they believed was located in the Nicolet National Forest.

Geyser told police, "I might as well just say it. We were trying to kill her."

Anissa Weier and Morgan Geyser. Image: HBO.

What were Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier's sentences?

Geyser and Weier were both charged with first-degree homicide and were tried as adults, despite their young age.

They were psychologically examined following the stabbing.

Anissa was diagnosed with depression, delusional disorder, and schizotypy, which is defined as a "diminished ability to determine what is real and what is not real".

Morgan was diagnosed with schizophrenia as well as defiant disorder.

In August 2017, Anissa pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree homicide, but a jury ruled that she was mentally ill at the time of the murder attempt and found her not guilty by reason of mental disease.

As a part of her plea deal, she was sentenced to a maximum of 25 years at a psychiatric facility, and required to spend at least three of those in psychiatric hospital before applying for supervised release.

This was in addition to the three years that she'd spent in juvenile detention while the case was tried.

In October 2017, Geyser pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, and was committed to a mental hospital. She was also found not guilty by reason of mental disease but was sentenced to 40 years in the psychiatric hospital, which the judge on the case said was an "issue of public protection."

Where is Anissa Weier now?

Just over 10 years on, the girls have very different lives.

According to a statement from Anissa's father, Anissa took on a "mother-like" role within the facility where she was being held.

"She knows how things function there," he said. "She helps other kids with the day-to-day routine."

In a petition for her conditional release, Anissa argued she had exhausted all her treatment options at the facility and needed to rejoin society, vowing she'd never let herself "become a weapon again", per NBC.

After spending nearly four years at the Winnebago Mental Health Institute, Anissa was released in fall, 2021, on conditions she would be subject to constant GPS monitoring and receive outpatient psychiatric treatment.

For the rest of her sentence, she must reside with her father, and all her internet use is monitored.

Morgan Geyser in court in 2017. Image: AAP.

Where is Morgan Geyser now?

After almost seven years in the psychiatric hospital, Morgan Geyser was approved for release.

In January 2025, a judge ruled that Morgan was ready to be moved to a group home where her mental health would continue to be monitored, per NBC.

Three medical experts testified that Morgan made considerable progress and wouldn't pose a safety risk outside the hospital.

"There's nothing to suggest that she is a danger to herself or others. And I think there's very little at this point that Winnebago [Mental Health Institute] can do for her… I think it's in her interest and in everybody's interest to try to help her now become the person she can become," Dr Kenneth Robbins, a psychiatrist treating Morgan, said.

Forensic psychologist Deborah Collins said keeping the now-22-year-old in the facility could make it more challenging for her to reintegrate into society.

A conditional release plan, which was sealed, was filed on September 8, though the location of the group home and the timing of the release were not included.

According to local paper The Freeman, an initial attempt to place Geyser was rejected because it had her living within 8 miles of her victim, Leutner.

She was released sometime between then and November 2025, when she vanished.

Anissa Weier in court in 2017. Image: AAP.

Wisconsin police issued an alert for Morgan Geyser on Sunday November 23, saying she'd last been seen leaving the group home at 8pm on Saturday evening.

They claim she left with an adult acquaintance, and has cut off her "Department of Corrections monitoring bracelet".

Her attorney, Tony Cotton, was unsure what happened to his client and publicly urged her to turn herself in.

Image: Supplied, Madison Police.

"We don't know any of the facts about what happened or who might have assisted her," he said.

There aren't many more details about Geyser's escape but new CCTV images of her are being circulated to help aid identification.

Geyser's victim, Payton Leutner, has been confirmed safe.

A spokesperson for her family said, "Payton Leutner and her family [are] aware of the most recent situation regarding Morgan Geyser. Payton and her family are safe and are working closely with local law enforcement to ensure their continued safety," per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

"The family would like to thank all of the law enforcement entities involved in the efforts to apprehend Morgan. The Leutner family also wish to thank the outpouring of support from family, friends and well-wishers who have contacted them during this difficult time."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Tony Cotton (@tony_cotton_lawyer)

Within a day, Geyser was located.

She was discovered at a truck stop in Posen, Illinois on Monday. That's around 270 kilometres away from Madison, where she'd been living in the group home.

Posen police told CNN that a 42-year old a man and 23-year-old Geyser were found sleeping at the stop.

They report that, "After continued attempts to identify her, she finally stated that she didn't want to tell officers who she was because she had 'done something really bad,' and suggested that officers could 'just Google' her name."

She's being held in Cook County jail awaiting extradition back to Wisconsin

Payton Leutners's survival story.

After the attack, Leutner was in hospital for 10 days. She continued to have near constant medical appointments in the months that followed.

She was able to return to school by September, and there she worked very hard to achieve good grades and even volunteered at a local animal shelter.

In October 2019, Payton spoke publicly about the attack for the first time and recalled what she could of that horrifying day.

She told ABC she didn't remember every detail of the brutal attack.

"I shouldn't be alive after what happened," she said.

"They just wanted to go on a walk. And I didn't think much of it. It's just a walk. It's in Waukesha. What bad stuff happens in Waukesha, Wisconsin?

"Anissa told me to lie on the ground and cover myself in sticks and leaves and stuff to hide, in a sense. But it was really just a trick to get me down there."

Then Morgan stabbed her 19 times and the pair left her for dead.

Payton recalled pulling herself out of the woods into the open where someone could find her.

"I couldn't focus much because my body was working so hard to keep itself alive," she said.

Where is Slender Man stabbing survivor Payton Leutner now?

For victim Payton Leutner, the lasting effects of the horrific crime have affected her for years.

In a victim impact statement shared in the court, Payton's mother said that Payton initially struggled to get to sleep alone after the attack.

"When she did finally move back into her bedroom she refused to unlock the windows or open the curtains. She slept with scissors under her pillow," the statement read.

"She couldn’t sleep unless I was in the room next to her and could respond to three knocks on her wall with three knocks on mine signifying 'I love you, you’re safe, and I’m here'."

She was left with over 20 scars that stretch from below her neck to below her belly button.

"We are all still trying to figure out what it means to live in the 'new normal' that we have been forced to endure," her mother said.

"We didn’t choose this life, it was thrust upon us unwillingly and we have had no choice but to stand up and deal with it in the best way we knew how."

Payton Leutner. Image: HBO.

Since the attack, Payton struggled to trust new friends but has worked hard to reclaim some normalcy. She said she never wants to see or talk to her two attackers again, adding that what Morgan did was "probably unforgiveable".

Despite her trauma, Payton believes everything that happened led her to her life now.

In 2019, she confirmed her plans to attend college and told ABC she wished to pursue a career in the medical field, which she believed was a goal inspired by what happened to her.

"Just because of what she did, I have the life I have now," Leutner said. "I really, really like it and I have a plan. I didn't have a plan when I was 12, and now, I do because of everything that I went through.

"I wouldn't think that someone who went through what I did would ever say that, but that's truly how I feel. Without the whole situation, I wouldn't be who I am."

This story was published in March 2019 and has been updated since.

Feature image: Waukesha County Zoom Hearing.