Waukesha, Wisconsin in the context of Milwaukee metropolitan area

On May 31, 2014, two twelve-year-olds lured their friend, who was also twelve, into a wooded area of Davids Park in Waukesha, Wisconsin, where they attempted to kill and sacrifice her to the Slender Man, a fictional supernatural being originating in creepypasta. Their target, Payton Isabella Leutner, suffered 19 stab wounds, but survived after being rescued by a cyclist.

The perpetrators, Anissa E. Weier (born November 10, 2001) and Morgan E. Geyser (born May 16, 2002), were motivated by their belief in the Slender Man, and believed killing Leutner would appease him and prove his existence. Weier and Geyser were tried as adults in 2017. Both were found not guilty by reason of insanity, and committed indefinitely to mental institutions. Weier was sentenced to 25 years to life, and later released in 2021 to live with her father. Geyser was sentenced to 40 years to life and was later released in 2025 to live in a group home, to be kept under supervision until 2058.

State Trunk Highway 16 (often called Highway 16, STH-16 or WIS 16) is a Wisconsin state highway running from Pewaukee across the state to La Crosse. Much of its route in the state parallels the former mainline of the Milwaukee Road and current mainline of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Interstate 90 (I-90) or I-94 parallels Highway 16 for most of its length in the state. It serves local traffic in nearby cities including La Crosse, Tomah, Wisconsin Dells, Portage, Columbus, Watertown, Oconomowoc and Waukesha. The highway is mainly two-lane surface road or urban multi-lane expressway from La Crosse to Oconomowoc, and it is a freeway east of Oconomowoc.