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 ...
What a wortless b*tch!
Warning for all bachelors: If a women passed 30 and nobody wanted her for wife, you don't want her for a bride either.(I will probably take some heat for this one, however I've seen numerous exemples proving this theory, many in my own family - not myself though, beeen maried over 30 years marrying in our early 20's).
For the guys it can be someone who knows how to add heat to food.
I bet her family offers to pay for all monies expended on her behalf. It would be salutory for Jen to do some community service, too...plus start paying her parents back.
Perky Katie Couric is no doubt burning up the phone lines to Georgia, trying to book Jenn and John for Monday am.
Luckily, no one was killed or injured as a result of resources being drained by Jenn's disappearance. That would be terrible to have on your conscience.
That was a classic smack down! I loved it. The co-anchor was actually smiling that his bimbo co-anchor got reamed!
Whether it was her that wanted the extravaganza or not, canceling something like that is scary for a woman. She had cold feet not over the wedding but over the groom. Laying the total blame for this on her is ridiculous. She finally made a good decision not to go through the wedding, because of who she was supposed to marry, not because of the gigantic proportions of the wedding itself which only lasts a day. You are stuck with who you marry a lot longer, LOL Good decision, bad execution of the decision. She was under a lot of pressure to be the bride today, that much is certain. The church is a media circus now with satellite trucks all over the parking lot, I just drove by it today.
bye
If the big wedding was really Jenn's lifelong dream, it turned into a nightmare. (I did hear one of her bridesmaids say that yesterday.....about the big wedding being Jenn's doing.)
Engaged - will be married later this year. ;)
If that FBI woman you're talking about is the retired one, good looking, doesn't mince words, I know exactly who you mean, and she's terrific.
Bernard: How does it look?
I didn't hear or see John Mason this am, but his demeanour all along has been a little weird. He must have known something was up, and the family had their fears on that score, too. Otherwise, her father would never have said "Oh, we're praying it's just a case of cold feet". No parent in his right mind would say that on national tv in front of God and all the people unless he suspected full well that might be the case.
The criminal profiler was Pat Brown. Later they had a marriage therapist named Pat Love. I think the producer at CNN got confused and told the reporterette it was going to be the marriage therapist she would be interviewing. It was even at the bottom of the screen that this criminal profiler was a "psychologist". That's why Pat Brown corrected the reporterette at the beginning. The reporterette was totally unprepared for what the criminal profiler said and appeared taken aback by it.
Pat Brown was taking no prisoners.
Whether or not you are guilty, my advice to any accused is to get the best lawyer you can and fight every phase of an investigation.
There's lots of genuinely innocent people in prison.
Your hysterics are way out of line. But if chest thumping makes you feel better, thump away! I really find it hard to believe you aren't happy she wasn't killed.
It appears daddy knows his (crazy) little girl.
I had second thoughts as I started down the aisle at my one and only wedding, but went ahead anyway. I should have listened to that inner voice! I'd like to think that in an alternate universe, I did.
I agree with much of what you said. And you are right, she had to know that her fiance and both of their parents and their families and friends, co-workers would all be worried sick about her.
A little while ago a business woman from the area was on tv and said that Jennifer owed them all a public apology. I think she is right. Others need to know that this type of thing is unacceptable and that it wastes time and money that could be spent on true abductions.
Having to make a public apology on tv might be the kind of humbling thing that makes other think twice before doing something so selfish as this was.
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