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 ...
a massive distraction of LE resources could easily have resulted in people getting killed; fraud and reckless, negligent behavior at the least. worse than reporting fake fires anyway.
There's NO way this chick was gonna have to pay for this monstrosity of a wedding. I'd bet $100 that Mommy not only planned it, but micro-managed it down to every minute detail. She probably made out the guest list, picked out the invitations, selected the wedding cake, chose the decor, and created the gift list. Then she picked up the tab for every single red cent.
Heck, she probably even picked out the groom.
Is it true that the future bride and groom shacked up for over a year? If so, it takes a lot of gall to throw a 600-guest wedding, complete with 8 wedding showers and a $250 ice bucket on the Macy's gift list. Just my old-fashioned opinion, of course.
Yeah and remember that they always give out the person's BEST photos. If that is the best she has ever looked then I'd hate to see her bad photos.
Next time someone goes missing, people are not going to take it seriously. And it was horrible what she made her parents and others who love her go through. She did a serious disservice to real victims - perhaps took a page from the antics of that woman in Milwaukee (I forgot her name) who staged her own kidnapping and nothing was ever done to her except provide her with the publicity she sought.</p>
I assume that people who leave notes that amount to "don't look for me" don't have their wishes respected either ;-)
She should definitely be made to pay for the cost of the search. NO WAY this lady did not know what a stir she caused. And if the guy marries her now he should have his head examined.
I went to bed right after hearing she was found in New Mexico last night and was quite elated. When I woke up a learned she pulled a hoax and planned this all along that's what I thought.
If I were the fiance (Mason) I would put off the wedding indefinately, seriously considering never going through with it. Odds probably 3 to 1 I would find another life mate. Who knows when she might snap again in the future?
Nam Vet
I heard one of this woman's friends say that this big wedding was Jennifer's lifelong dream. This was her fantasy wedding, and she's no teenager. So why push the blame onto others?
Some have commented about always carrying a cellphone when jogging. My daughter and a friend of hers (who is a marathon runner) never carry a cell phone when going running, nor do they wear their jewelry.
Where'd you get this from ???
She is (or was) a Medical Assistant at an OB-GYN facility.
I thought there was a lot fishy here too, but I didn't think it was cold feet. If I were her fiance I'd be livid at her and there'd be no way the relationship would be saved. At best she's an immature spoiled brat and at worst she's mental. Isn't much of what she did a crime?
I feel sorry for her fiance too but he still looks wierd to me as well. Maybe they deserved each other. Who knows.
Just for the record (anyone?) just where do the bigger bucks lie ... her family or his?
Then you've got those couples looking to retire right after their wedding...;^)
PS: I'm kinda partial to those $180 candlesticks, so if you want to get randog a belated wedding gift....;^)
The family just got totally "punked"
I've seen so many women with this look in the last few years that I've concluded it's related to contact lenses.
Can anyone verify or invalidate my conjecture?
I hate CNN.
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