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Hundreds search for missing bride-to-be
AP Wire ^ | April 28, 2005 | AP Wire

Posted on 04/28/2005 10:13:06 AM PDT by varina davis

Hundreds Search for Missing Bride-To-Be

April 28, 2005 10:40 AM EDT

DULUTH, Ga. - A 32-year-old woman disappeared just days before she was to be married, and authorities said Thursday they were expanding their search for her.

Jennifer Wilbanks' fiance told authorities she left home Tuesday night to go jogging. When she did not return in a couple of hours, he began looking for her, then notified police.

On Wednesday, more than 250 people searched for Wilbanks, including volunteers and police using helicopters and tracking dogs. Authorities called off the volunteer search but continued canvassing door-to-door for clues in this northeastern Atlanta suburb. They were treating the disappearance as a criminal investigation but did not elaborate.

"It's a very real possibility she did get cold feet. I mean, how many husbands have gone out for a pack of cigarettes and not come back," Duluth Police Chief Randy Belcher said.

Earlier, police Maj. Don Woodruff said friends and family believed "this is totally uncharacteristic of her. We don't believe it was a case of premarital jitters."

On Thursday, about 100 police officers expanded their search a quarter-mile deeper into woods near her home. Police had not asked anyone to take a polygraph test, but her fiance has volunteered to do so, Belcher said.

Friends and relatives have told police Wilbanks seemed happy and was looking forward to her wedding Saturday. Her keys, cash, credit cards and identification were found in her home.

"She left out of here with just a radio and the clothes she has on," said Wilbanks' fiance, John Mason. "Everything she owns is in the home. If this is cold feet, it is the weirdest case of cold feet I have ever seen."

Wilbanks and Mason were to be married in a large ceremony. Six hundred invitations had been mailed, and the wedding was to feature 14 bridesmaids and 14 groomsmen, according to Mason's mother, Vicki.

Investigators checked the banks of the nearby Chattahoochee River, and the state Department of Natural Resources planned to search the river, Woodruff said.

Wilbanks was described as 5 feet, 8 inches tall, about 123 pounds, with shoulder-length dark brown hair. She was last seen wearing a gray sweat shirt and blue sweat pants, police said.


TOPICS: Front Page News; News/Current Events; US: Georgia
KEYWORDS: bride; cary; cheneychick; missing; search; wilbanks
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To: Labyrinthos
Not if there's another man in her life.

I'd bet if this were ture one of her close friends would be aware of it in some fashion.

41 posted on 04/28/2005 12:27:53 PM PDT by 1Old Pro
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To: Labyrinthos

Exactly!

If her wedding was a remake of the Zigfield Follies, then her ring probably wasn't a dainty little chip.

I can see leaving it at home for a run.


42 posted on 04/28/2005 12:31:28 PM PDT by najida (I wish I had Tina Turner's legs, Ann Coulter's brains and Paris Hilton's credit cards.)
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To: 1Old Pro
I'd bet if this were ture one of her close friends would be aware of it in some fashion.

Perhaps. When my ex-wife was "doing" half the men and women at the health club (OK, maybe not half, but it seemed that way), everyone in town knew it except for me.

43 posted on 04/28/2005 12:31:46 PM PDT by Labyrinthos
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To: varina davis
"She left out of here with just a radio and the clothes she has on," said Wilbanks' fiance, John Mason.

Whenever I'm in my vehicle and see a young woman jogging with a radio headset on I shake my head at her like - no, no, don't do that. They usually don't see me since they aren't paying attention to their surroundings. Not very wise.

44 posted on 04/28/2005 12:33:26 PM PDT by Aquamarine
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To: Cecily

I don't know if EH was ever executed... Were any of the others put in jail?


45 posted on 04/28/2005 12:34:17 PM PDT by najida (I wish I had Tina Turner's legs, Ann Coulter's brains and Paris Hilton's credit cards.)
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To: Labyrinthos
When my ex-wife was "doing" half the men and women at the health club

You're lucky she's an "ex". Sheesh, consider yourself lucky to be sans that.

46 posted on 04/28/2005 12:34:59 PM PDT by 1Old Pro
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To: 1Old Pro

I think we're both a lot happier now.


47 posted on 04/28/2005 12:36:21 PM PDT by Labyrinthos
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To: najida

I don't know about the girlfriend who was an accessory, but the other guy did go to jail. I don't think he got the death penalty because he made a deal with the state to testify against Hammond.


48 posted on 04/28/2005 12:42:10 PM PDT by Cecily
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To: oceanperch
I noticed her eyes in all the pics, too. Thanks for the possible explanation for what it may be.

Did I hear that they had not lived in the area for very long? If so, where did they live before?

49 posted on 04/28/2005 12:43:23 PM PDT by uvular
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To: najida

Besides...fingers swell when running and if you are wearing a ring it is very uncomfortable and hard to remove until the swelling has gone down. Doesn't surprise me she would leave her ring at home. A lot of people jog or exercise less their jewelry.


50 posted on 04/28/2005 12:44:12 PM PDT by cubreporter ( hav)
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To: timtoews5292004
yeah. My ceremony was equally short. I edited down the raw footage from my ceremony and kept track of the total time.from the start of the processional for the groomsmen/bridesmaids to when she came out, was actually longer than the rest of the ceremony.

I still cannot get over the flowers (it's been 10 years). I automatically tend to look at the cost/benefit of things so I immediately began to look for ways to cut my waste. I didn't want to upset my wife and make her feel guilty but I had to do something. I called the church to see if there were any weddings scheduled after ours. There was one. I called the guy and asked him if they'd be interested in splitting the cost of the flowers used to decorate the sanctuary, we'd pay for our own bridal bouquets and things like that. He agreed. Woo hoo! Guess what? The evil trollop that he was to marry backed out and I was left with the full bill. It was over $5,000 dollars! Why!!??? I think weddings are kind of like funerals - they know you're going to do it so they lay the shaft to you.
51 posted on 04/28/2005 12:54:18 PM PDT by Jaysun (Why can't we list "the government" as a dependent on our taxes?)
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To: Jaysun

Plastic flowers arranged by my florist mother in law. A couple hundred bucks, tops. The only way to go. You couldn't tell from the seats whether they were real or fake, anyway.


52 posted on 04/28/2005 1:12:02 PM PDT by timtoews5292004
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To: Jaysun

If he killed her, then why wouldn't he just agree with the cop about the (convenient) possibility that she got "cold feet"?


53 posted on 04/28/2005 1:13:48 PM PDT by tabsternager
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To: Labyrinthos

Didn't she speak to her mother that evening about the last minute preparations for the wedding?


54 posted on 04/28/2005 1:19:41 PM PDT by uncitizen
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To: uncitizen
Didn't she speak to her mother that evening about the last minute preparations for the wedding?

I don't think that's dispositive. Far too often, weddings become an event for the bride's parents, and in particular the bride's mother. For all we know, her mother might be a control freak and the daughter was afraid to tell mommy dearest to call off a wedding for 600 of their closest friends and relatives because she is in love with someone else. Of course I'm just speculating, but I would rather think that she eloped with her true love than become the victim of foul play.

55 posted on 04/28/2005 1:34:36 PM PDT by Labyrinthos
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To: Labyrinthos

that could be.


56 posted on 04/28/2005 1:35:36 PM PDT by uncitizen
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To: Aquamarine
I so totally agree with you.

Because the nature of what I do in augmentative communication and careproviding I need my eyes, ears ect. and it flows over to when I am out in the world "acutely aware".

A gal or guy wearing those is just like wearing a huge neon flashing light "easy prey".

Now with the ipod thingy I can see teens getting into the ear piece blocking the world out around them mode.
57 posted on 04/28/2005 1:40:53 PM PDT by oceanperch (Life in America is Resembling Airport Terminals)
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To: beaureguard; Cecily; najida

Anyone old enough to remember Anjette Donovan Lyles? As I recall she was abducted from Lenox Square back in the late 60's. Did she ever turn up?


58 posted on 04/28/2005 1:43:37 PM PDT by GadareneDemoniac
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To: All

I heard this afternoon that LE is checking DNA on a clump of hair found along Jennifer's jogging route. I don't think she was avoiding her wedding.


59 posted on 04/28/2005 2:06:56 PM PDT by varina davis
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To: GadareneDemoniac

I have not heard of her.


60 posted on 04/28/2005 2:12:46 PM PDT by Cecily
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