Posted on 04/30/2005 6:35:35 AM PDT by kellynla
Duluth bride-to-be who vanished just days before her wedding turned up in New Mexico and fabricated a tale of abduction before admitting Saturday that she had gotten cold feet and "needed some time alone," police said.
Jennifer Wilbanks, 32, was in police custody more than 1,420 miles from her home on what was supposed to be her wedding day.
"It turns out that Miss Wilbanks basically felt the pressure of this large wedding and could not handle it," said Duluth Police Chief Randy Belcher. He said there would be no criminal charges.
Wilbanks, whose disappearance set off a nationwide hunt, called her fiance, John Mason, from a pay phone early Saturday and told him that she had been kidnapped while jogging three days before, authorities said. Her family rejoiced that she was safe, telling reporters that the media coverage apparently got to the kidnappers.
But Wilbanks soon recanted, according to police.
Ray Schultz, chief of police in Albuquerque, said Wilbanks "had become scared and concerned about her impending marriage and decided she needed some time alone." He said she traveled to Las Vegas by bus before going to Albuquerque.
"She's obviously very concerned about the stress that she's been through, the stress that's been placed on her family," he said. "She is very upset."
The scene at the house Wilbanks shared with Mason went from jubilant, with Mason hopping from one TV interview to the next and joking about meeting Sean Hannity, to more subdued.
Everyone but immediate family was told to leave the house, and the blinds were drawn and the front door closed. Police put up crime scene tape to keep people away.
"Having cold feet is a joy compared to what the alternative might have been," friend Melinda Larson, who had planned to attend the wedding...
(Excerpt) Read more at ajc.com ...
I imagine there are lots of reasons. There is an alternative. All search activity for missing person's could become a private or volunteer matter. No government assistance. It would reduce the tax burden.
The public objection is mooted without the waste of public resources.
Yeah, but, here's the rub:
This event was none of our
business! The news shows
for their own profits
blew this up to an "event."
Lots of recent news
strikes me as events
that are none of my business,
and not the business
of anyone but
the people affected. But
I don't see a change . . .
This is true, but once she knew there was a taxpayer-funded search going on - which she HAD to know unless she was totally removed from all media while she was missing - she had the obligation to call at once and stop it.
Instead, she let it go on for three days.
It's women like her that make women like me despise women.
Well, Albuquerque is where all the nuts go
My kid brother went missing once. He was found curled up in his closet, with a blanket, taking a nap.
Too much attention is focused on the ceremony and the reception and not enough on life after the ceremony. The wedding is a huge Hollywood production put on by people who are not accustomed to putting on big productions. Funerals have become productions too, I have been to several of those in the last couple of years, where the deceased was filmed before death, talking about their life. Ugh! Make it simple stupid is my motto.
Both of my twin daughters got married in the past 5 years. They paid for it themselves. My husband and I simply couldn't afford it. Our family and those of both grooms helped with some expenses and we did some of the actual physical "work" involved, but the girls did most of it themselves.
Unbelievable!!!! She should be ashamed of herself---she sounds like a selfish,self centered little twit.
>
> Bimbo Alert!
>
I'm sure there is more than one side to this story. (Duh)
There's plenty we don't know.
Just like a Fairy Tale....
The Romance and the Wedding and then the words, "they lived happily ever after!"
Yeah, right, sure....
That's the hard part. Anyone can plan a party!
I couldn't agree more. It's beome utterly insane.
My sister did that at about the same age. A neighbor called my mom to tell her my sister was walking down the hill carrying a suitcase. :)
A moral obligation, but I don't think there is a legal obligation. The official search had been canceled anyway.
But, many of you jumped to judgement with each piece of news.
First, the husband did it and then she's found and therefore, she's a b%tch or even insane.
We don't know anything about this - just skimming the surface. So, why don't we all take a deep breath, hug our loved ones and stop being so judgemental.
But for the Grace of God...
"This is a huge problem because it strikes at the believability of all crime victims. It's the classic boy-who-cried-wolf issue. As a deputy prosecutor, I am highly pissed off about this. PLEASE e-mail the Gwinnett County district attorney, Danny Porter, and ask him to file false informing charges on Jennifer Wilbanks. His e-mail address is Danny.Porter@gwinnettcounty.com"
THANK YOU!
I'm glad I'm not the only one who sees the problems this bimbo has caused for future possible abductions!
After reading this,
I wanted to run away
(still do!) but I have
bad teeth, and the thought
of a lost filling away
from a good dentist
terrifies me more
than spending another day
with the mainstream news . . .
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