Mary Alice Siem was a student at the University of California, Berkeley who was one of the earliest founding members of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA).
She was known to have visited both Donald DeFreeze and Thero Wheeler while they were in prison, prior to their escapes. She was considered to be Wheeler's girlfriend and a frequent visitor to him at the prison. After Wheeler's escape, Siem began hanging out with Mizmoon and Nancy Ling Perry. She is believed to have left the SLA soon after the escape of Thero Wheeler from prison.
She was described in the press as a young heiress, 24 years of age. Some have speculated that her ID was stolen and used by another person, and that the real Mary Alice Siem had left Berkeley already.
On February 18, 1974, police in Redding, California sought Siem as a "known acquaintance" of two escaped convicts (DeFreeze and Wheeler) reportedly sought in the case.
On 4 May 1974, an article appeared in The Pittsburgh Courier quoting Siem. She had originally spoken to The San Francisco Examiner. She said that she had left the SLA due to death threats from DeFreeze: