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 ...
LOL! I have to agree. The posters on this thread are ridiculous. There must be angry Jen cheated them out of a more interesting story, ala Peterson, Hacker, Blake. Personally, I'm quite happy it turned out this way. If Jen couldn't handle the pressure before, now she has at least 10 to 100 times the pressure.
Oh, many many dimes. Both families are "pillars of the community" types. Tons of cash, Junior League, the whole deal. Did you know she had EIGHT wedding showers?
I wonder if this is an elaborate plot to get all the deposits associated with the wedding back?
You done good, and it sounds like you married well. :^)
I'd settle for a public flogging.
That "sum-b***h" was a perfect sheriff!!
That'd work for me. Wonder where JSK is . . .
My husband and I got married at the L.A. courthouse and went to Montecito for the weekend and left a few days later for 2 weeks in Greece. It was awesome. We had money to spend on our honeymoon and no stress about the wedding. Maybe in 5 years we will have a renewal of vows party instead.
With the pressures of weddings, couples don't concentrate on their relationship but have to focus on the napkins and the cake and the guest list. By the time the wedding arrives, they have to start from the beginning and get reacquainted again. It's nutty.
yes, but her mother and father are not responsible.
I mean she is an adult...if only in years! LOL
Jennifer Wilbanks, 32,ought to feel the pressure of a good paddling 32 times, plus one to GROW UP on!!!
"I just couldn't believe that someone would do something so selfish and immature
How could she wait 3 days knowing her family, friends and husband-to-be had to be going through such anguish!
I am glad she is alive but she should at the very least be fined to pay for the cost of the search"
we are total agreement!
ROFL! Good one. Me too.
OK, so she bought a bus ticket in advance. Did she use a credit card or debit card or did she pay cash? Did she withdraw a large sum of cash before vanishing or did she use Plastic all along the way. If she used plastic, she could have bee tracked pretty quickly (unless there are some privacy laws that come up).
An any FReeper shed some light on this?
Maybe he knew she was safe.
And punishing the innocent guests who should receive their presents back would help in what way?
She should have to pay it personally, if it takes her the rest of her life. No wonder she isn't married at 32. What an immature witch.
Note she headed for Albuquerque......
Are you telling me I don't have a right to go off where I please? Sure, a lot of folks spent a lot of time and money looking for her, but that was none of her doing.
I fear the day when I am required to report to the Government if someone says I'm missing. As long as there is no fraud involved, I can leave town without saying a word to anyone.
Ummmm, that is status quo. Her case changes nothing about the way future cases will be handled. There are hundreds of runaways, and likey scores of abductions each day.
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I agree. I'm glad she's all right.
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