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 ...
Thanks!
Absolutely. What she has done to that man is incomprehensible.
I feel like calling him myself to apologize for ever suspecting he might be involved.
>>>
Natch on that........
One of my friends remarked that the reason why John Mason may have looked so chill and non chalant when Jennifer disappeared is that he knew she had had cold feet in the past and was a little flighty.
I really do wish you the best and hope your friends can sort things out amongst themselves and have a happy ending !
Next weekend I am going to visit my sister and celebrate the twins' birthday(s). If any of you decide to make national headlines and need my assistance in some way....well, I'll pray for you. Pretty much all I got left in the tank right now. ha.
I love John and Jennifer very much. I hope to be 1/5th of the man John is one day. I wish you all knew what's he been through, how much it hurt him, and how amazingly he handled it.
Thanks for the kind words of love and support (yeah, there were a few...I saw them, ha). Even when it hurts, I'm proud to be a Freeper.
I believe that in most states it is a criminal offense ("disorderly conduct" or somesuch) for a person to deliberately act in a way which will get the police needlessly involved in something that would otherwise not be a criminal matter. Merely deciding to go someplace without telling anyone, when you're not particularly expected to be anyplace else, does not qualify. But to go off someplace when hundreds of people are expecting you to be at a particular place at a particular time, and then to ignore for days the widespread reports of a massive search, probably does.
I would think any sane person would insist that any police interviews be videotaped. Otherwise, the police may adjust their recollections of the interview as needed to fit their case.
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