Runaway Bride May Face Charges in Georgia

Associated Press ^ | 1 May 05 | KRISTEN WYATT

[SkyPilot]

DULUTH, Ga. - A prosecutor said Sunday that he wants to review whether the runaway bride-to-be who admitted she made up a kidnapping story should be charged for making false statements to the police.

Jennifer Wilbanks returned to this tight-knit town on Saturday after a cross-country bus trip took her through Las Vegas, Nev., to Albuquerque, N.M., as hundreds of volunteers searched for her.

She initially told authorities she had been abducted while jogging, but eventually admitted her kidnapping story was fabricated and she had run away because she had cold feet for her wedding, which was planned for Saturday.

Police initially said there would be no criminal charges, but Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter said Sunday that he was still looking into the matter.

"I think it's really going to depend on the circumstances on how this was done," Porter said. "If there's criminal responsibility, that's something I have to do something about."

Porter said the 32-year-old woman could face a misdemeanor charge of false report of a crime or a felony charge of false statements. The misdemeanor carries a penalty of up to a year of jail time and the felony carries a maximum of 5 years of prison.

The charges potentially would stem from Wilbanks reporting her kidnapping story on the phone to Duluth Police Chief Randy Belcher, Porter said, adding that he had no jurisdiction over the woman's 911 call to Albuquerque authorities.

Members of Peachtree Corners Baptist Church, where she was scheduled to be married, said prayers and expressed concern on Sunday for her and her fiance, John Mason.

But some residents of this Atlanta suburb felt betrayed by what turned out to be an elaborate hoax. Volunteers had searched woods and alleys, crawled in sewage drains and stayed up late looking for Wilbanks.

"I'm glad that she's alive and OK, but it was a dirty trick," said Louise McCoy, waiting in line at the Duluth post office Saturday — the same day Wilbanks was supposed to be married in a lavish ceremony that included 14 bridesmaids and 14 groomsmen.

More than 100 officers led a search that involved several hundred volunteers, including many wedding guests and members of the bridal party.

A Wisconsin college student who faked her own abduction last year and turned up curled in a fetal position in a marsh was ordered to repay police at least $9,000 for their search. She pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of obstructing officers and was given three years' probation.

Wilbanks returned Saturday by plane to Atlanta, where she was picked up in a squad car on the tarmac — with a towel covering her head — to avoid the media.

There were no family members at the airport to greet her, but her stepfather and an uncle had flown to Albuquerque to escort her home, authorities said.

Wilbanks decided to call her fiance and police with the story about the kidnapping when she found herself broke in Albuquerque, according to authorities.

In her 911 call, Wilbanks sounds frantic and confused, telling an operator she was kidnapped from Atlanta by a man and a woman in their 40s who were driving a blue van. Through sobs, she tells the dispatcher they had a small handgun.

At one point, the operator asks if Wilbanks knows what direction her captors went after dropping her off in Albuquerque.

"I have no idea. I don't even know where I am," she says.

Moments after the word came Saturday that Wilbanks fled town and hadn't been kidnapped, most of the police who'd been guarding her house since Tuesday night pulled away. Fliers with Wilbanks' picture were pulled down from local store windows. Some residents removed yellow ribbons they'd put on their mailboxes.

After police reported the hoax, the mood outside Wilbanks' home went from jubilant to somber. Family members ducked inside and the blinds were drawn. They later expressed relief that she was safe.

"Sure, we were all disappointed, maybe a little embarrassed, but you know what, if you remember all the interviews yesterday we were praying, 'At this point let her be a runaway bride,'" said the Rev. Alan Jones, who was to perform the wedding. "So God was faithful. Jennifer's alive and we're all thankful for that."

[ladyinred]

Wow, this woman is obviously not playing with a full deck. The groom to be should consider himself fortunate this charade of a wedding didn't take place. What a nutcase!

[potlatch]

Three jumping hamburgers under three jumping monkeys?? Is that what that Tarzan yell was all about??

ntnychik, you've got to see this, LOL.

[John Valentine]

No, I am sympathetic to your point of view. I just wonder how much there is about this case that I or even we don't really understand. I think there must be a lot of surrounding facts that aren't publically known. Surely I know I am not well informed on this case. Perhaps I ought to leave it at that.

[k2blader]

this little strumpet needs to get everything the law can give her.

Agreed, on behalf of the police and taxpayers who supported the search and rescue effort while authentic needs were probably shoved to the sideline.

[TheSpottedOwl]

I didn't know she had bought the tickets to Vegas, ten days before. Didn't know she withdrew the money before her fiance moved in with her, either.

Someone posted earlier here that she jilted two other guys at the altar. She's got issues, and I agree that if she hadn't run out of money, she'd still be gone.

I think we'll be hearing more about this story as time goes by.

[TheSpottedOwl]

Hahahaa! How did I manage to misspell accessories???? It does fit though ;)

[A Jovial Cad]

"Ah, finally the voice of reason"

Surely you jest, "jeeperz."

The "voice of reason" has posted nothing but happy-horsecrap bilge on this thread, of the sort that would make a cat laugh and cause a decent person to reach for the vomit-bucket.

Uber-Oprah stuff it no doubt is, complete with all the attendant weepy burbling and saccharine-sweet evasions from the evident truth; but an honest assessment of the situation as it truly--by all the available facts--is in this matter?

Please.

What's next in this charade of offered wisdom; this posted pirouette of mutual self-delusion? I can almost hear the refrains of "All by myself" playing softly in the background...*snicker*...

I say again: surely you jest...

[Prophet in the wilderness]

You can bet that since her money ran out, she is going to try to get in good graces with her fiancee and try to get more money out of him.
I would not blame him at all if her refuses to ever see her again and ends the relationship by her making a fool out of him and his family, and making him a suspect.
Was it his family who paid for the wedding cost ? or her family ?
The best thing for him to do now, is to just walk away from it all.
You can be certain, that the feminist are going to make this a rally cause for a woman's Independence, and make him out to be the evil one here ( in spite of her immaturity ).

[devolve]

She dumped two other guys at the altar before this one?

Her weird eye makeup was a big clue to me.

Running to Vegas sure ads to her resume - I'll bet she has a history that will smoke up a Motel 6 -

Mason needs a good talking to from his father and buddies - this dingbat is a fruitcake -

[Prophet in the wilderness]

In spite whether or not a woman goes through with a wedding, the culture tells us, that it's the man who pays for the engagement ring , and if the woman backs out of the engagement, she still gets to keep the ring.
And in most cases, its just a scam to get money out of a man.
Don't expect her to give the ring back, even if she did this immature stunt.
Someone told me onetime, even if the man pays for the engagement ring ? ( even if he paid $$$ thousands ) if he were to ask for the ring back if a woman backs out of the wedding, it is considered " NO CLASS " classless to ask a woman for the ring back, and I think that is wrong.

[Prophet in the wilderness]

The womens groups and the feminist don't care if she humiliated him for no cause, as far as they are concerned, even if he is innocent, he deserved it anyway.
They are still going to put all the blame and fault on him anyway because he is a man.
You have to remember something, in the feminist's mind, and the womens groups minds ? a woman is ALL WAYS pure and innocent, and can NEVER DO NO WRONG.
In their minds, the MAN is the one who is evil, and wrong.
You watch, and mark my word, they are going to blame him anyway for her immature actions, because, she is the victim, that it was something about him that caused her to do this ( in spite, that she is emotionally and mentally immature at 32 , and will never be ready to marry ) and that she had no control over her actions.
I don't care what pastors and priest say , in todays world, you defiantly need to have a Pre-nup agreement before anyone gets married today, just like, it is necessary to have a living will.

[Prophet in the wilderness]

You can thank the Feminist for our country's full brainwashing.
The feminist live on Double Standards you know.

[Prophet in the wilderness]

Don't you know ? this IS the liberals way of doing things, if someone messes up, it's not " THEIR " fault, but someone else's, and the whole community has to pay for it. Sarcasm.

[Prophet in the wilderness]

They always have those kinds of interviews, and the more ironic interviews are the ones when they interview the families, teachers, the community, and have them say " oh, they were such a good person " after a criminal if captured or has done a huge crime.

[beyond the sea]

My, my ....... this girl may be very odd.

[Prophet in the wilderness]

You mean, She never wanted to return, but, ran out of money, faced reality, and decided that she might have to use her female charms on him again and she might be able to scam more money out of him and leave him broke, and still he will get the blame.

[Prophet in the wilderness]

Correction :

Tonight on Lifetime..... Brainwashing Television Hellivision for women...
" Tonight, on lifetime ... a spunky, feisty free spirit independent Georgia woman refuses to be a ( irrational imaginations of being a victim ) victimized by a man, and by a patriarchal system, a tradition that has served us well, who wanted to supposedly oppress her, but she still wants to retain the benefits of having the man to support her financially, and have the man to spend money on her "

[Prophet in the wilderness]

Yes.. you right.
Men ? get a glue, when a woman publicly expresses or you have heard the dreaded words " it's all about me !! " it's time to run in the other direction, you'll be saving yourself a lot of grief.
Soon, the women will start to shine about why they are alone.
The product of the ME, ME, ME generation can only be given thanks in no part other then the Feminist.

[GodBlessRonaldReagan]

Thank you! I'm here til Thursday. Try the veal - it's delish!

[NRA2BFree]

Surely you jest, "jeeperz."

The "voice of reason" has posted nothing but happy-horsecrap bilge on this thread, of the sort that would make a cat laugh and cause a decent person to reach for the vomit-bucket.

Uber-Oprah stuff it no doubt is, complete with all the attendant weepy burbling and saccharine-sweet evasions from the evident truth; but an honest assessment of the situation as it truly--by all the available facts--is in this matter? Please.

What's next in this charade of offered wisdom; this posted pirouette of mutual self-delusion? I can almost hear the refrains of "All by myself" playing softly in the background...*snicker*...

I say again: surely you jest...

And, the reason you think Jeeperz or I care about what you think or say is.....?

You're quite the Drama King. Get over yourself.