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 ...
Agreed...ISSUES=a gopher loose in her garden.
Her boyfriend has one less 'ISSUE' to deal with now. HER.
Imagine what would have happened when the pressure of picking window treatments came up or heaven forbid what to have for dinner. I hope her sister has been in contact with Dr. Phil. Geez
"The whites visible above the irises may indicate some dangerous elements within the personality. An explosive temper may be latent in this type and the nature very forceful. Caution is the operative word in this case. Charles Manson exhibited these eyes. Chinese face readers call them wolves eyes."
There might be something to that. She does LOOK crazy to me (not just based on her actions, she actually looks crazy).
Or she could have Grave's Disease. Many hyperthyroid or Grave's patients experience swelling of the eyes and or receding eyelids, which would produce an exaggerated, "bug-eyed" stare. I know. I've got Grave's, and struggle with swelling of my eyes. Luckily, they look normal most of the time, but when the antibodies increase their attack on my eyes, I have the same sort of "googly-eyed" stare. On days like that, I don't leave the house, or if I do, I wear sunglasses.
Whenever my wife's channel surfing lands on the Lifetime Channel, I groan, "So, here we are at the 'Victim Channel' again."
She then gives me a victimized dirty look and moves down the channel selection.
Perpetual victimhood is what is being drummed into the heads of American women today.
Thanks for all your input, and I'm grateful that everyone's prayers were answered, even if embarrassing.
When things calm down a bit, PLEASE encourage Jennifer to have her thyroid checked immediately. When the whites of a woman's eyes are clearly visible around the entire circumference of the iris, that's big red flag for Grave's Disease, which often involves a "bug eyed" look that develops slowly enough that it's not noticed by people who see you every day.
Stress plays a big role in Graves, also. It used to be considered "rare," but I guess not any more. Jennifer's in her thirties, VERY thin, athletic, and stressed out, and these all put together seem to be risk factors (I got mine at forty). Ask her if she feels "hot" frequently (heat intolorance). Ask her if she's noticed light hand tremors. I understand she's a nurse, so perhaps she meant to look into it after the wedding.
I'm guessing there are dozens of opthamologists and/or endocrinologist types attempting to reach the family by emailing CNN, but they must get a million a day, so they can't even forward them.
Thanks again for your insight. I assume you're getting some rest....
whew, just got back from a great fishing trip up in the mountains.
great to hear that this woman was found.
what happened to that other woman who was going to get married? she disappeared while she was jogging. We had all decided that the husband killed her because he had shifty eyes and didn't seem very concerned about her being gone.
so weird that two brides went missing in the same week, right before their weddings!
"Murphy thought that at the very least, she's going to be looking at a humongous bill that she (her family) will have to pay back to local, state and federal agencies"
The woman is in her 30's and thus her family is responsible for nothing she does, as she is an "adult" (in name only). Also, as her husband-to-be's father is a judge in Duluth, and was once the Mayor; you can bet that he will make sure there will be no bill presented to Jennifer. In particular, if his son and Jennifer do end up getting married, so that his son, John, will not be liable for any debts that might be incurred from this "event" by Jennifer.
Surely the son can not be that stupid and have survived to adulthood.
Yes, he is that stupid. He went to meet her at the plane in Georgia tonight. Jennifer said the wedding was only postponed, not called off. He is a lunatic, IMO.
Apart from the cost in terms of $$, I wonder how many total law enforcement man-hours were diverted from legitimate missing person cases because of her immaturity. I wonder how many real victims and their families have been denied justice because of the time she bought for the real criminals.
BTW, she ended up in Albuquerque because she ran out of money trying to keep law enforcement off of her trail when she left Las Vegas according to a former law enforcement officer on Fox News with Rita Cosby. This is after we found out that she bought the bus ticket on the 19th. of the month in Gainesville, FL. She planned it.
She also left a voice message for one of the musicians who was performing in her wedding before she hopped the bus to Vegas knowing that she was going to skip out on all of them. She made a fool of a lot of people close to her. They probably won't be so quick to give her the benefit of the doubt the next time the drama queen makes a "mistake".
Well, I still don't believe it. I think it is all just the nicey, nice right now becuase so much attention is on him and her. You watch...he will NOT marry her. He did not deserve to be treated like that not to mention her parents. I'm inclined to believe when things settle down he will walk and I would not blame him. He deserves better.
Welcome to the party!
"You watch...he will NOT marry her."
I hope you are right, that Mr. Mason has the good sense to tell Ms. Wilbanks, "It's been nice, but..." If he doesn't, then he'll have to deal with the consequences.
My point is that you and the rest of the judges on this thread don't KNOW the whole story. First everyone wanted to condemn the fiance, then her, let's let the story unfold before we chop heads.
This saying of Jesus has really been misused over the years -- Macaroona
Yep..
The Woman Caught In Adultery
Does the story of the woman caught in adultery, forgiven and released (John 8:3-11) negate a penalty (in this case the penalty was death)?
God Forgave Adulterers Before
Gomer was an adulteress yet God forgave her (Hos. 3:1). Still, He demanded that His people obey His law (Hos. 4:6).
King David committed adultery and murder (2 Sam. 11). Yet God forgave him (Psalm 32:1-5).
It was a conscious decision on God’s part to not execute David. As Nathan said to David:
As Nathan said to David:
"The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. However… by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme…" 2 Sam. 12:13
Still, God’s law remained in effect (Ps. 1:2; 19:7; 78:1, 5-8; 89:30-32; 119).
God forgave the New Testament adulterer just as He forgave Old Testament adulterers, in neither instance revoking His law. God has all authority to forgive the criminal and disregard temporal punishment. Contrariwise, Men must obey God and cannot ignore punishment.
The Pharisees Wanted to Trap Christ
The Pharisees wanted to accuse Jesus of rebelling against the Roman Empire:
This [the Pharisees] said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. John 8:6
Rome had revoked the Jews’ authority to put a criminal to death (John 18:31). A straight-forward answer to the Pharisees would have brought Jesus into premature conflict with Rome before His "hour had come." Jesus solved this problem stating, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first" (John 8:7). Christ often frustrated the Pharisees giving clever answers that thwarted their wicked intentions (Mat. 22:15-22; 21:21-27; Mark 12:13-17; Luke 20:20-26).
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OTOH... I do soundly agree with Dashing Dasher that the name calling (especially the "B" word) is uncalled for. The moderators used to agree...
--Do Not Curse -- Admin Moderator
What I meant by a big thing is that they went national - stopping short of an Amber Alert (Those are reserved for minors, I believe). Certainly I would want the police to do their best in locating any missing person. What I really object to is the hype the media put on it. They went national with this thing not so much in an effort to locate her, but for the audience draw and the ratings that would have came with it.
I am quoting her uncle's official family statement in saying she has "issues". Not my choice of words, which is why I quoted him using quote marks.
Of course the "issues" are in her own head (to quote you).
Even if she found out something shocking and awful about her intended (not saying she did) on the eve of her marriage, there's no excuse for what she put her family and friends through, not to mention the community.
There is something wrong that goes WAY beyond her relationships with men or her ambivalent feelings about marriage.
Super congrats !
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