Bride-to-be Jennifer Wilbanks found alive

[us3rX]

[quote]Bride-to-be Jennifer Wilbanks found alive
Police say she fabricated abduction story after pressure of wedding got to her

Staff and wire reports
Published on: 04/30/05

A 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 around 1:40 a.m. 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."

Schultz said she traveled to Las Vegas by bus before going to Albuquerque, where she found herself broke. Bill Elwell, an FBI spokesman in Albuquerque, said that is probably why she called home when she did.

Wilbanks had cut her hair so no one would recognize her, but she gave no indication that she had watched news reports of the search or realized the magnitude of the situation, Elwell said.

Elwell said Wilbanks, who is a nurse, apparently decided shortly after purportedly leaving for her jog Tuesday night that she was going to run away.

"Based on the information we received, it was a spur of the moment situation," Elwell told The Associated Press.

Elwell said WilbanksÕ relatives were en route to New Mexico and were expected to pick her up in the afternoon and head back to Atlanta.

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.

Friends expressed relief that Wilbanks was safe.

"If you remember all the interviews yesterday we were praying, ÕAt this point let her be a runaway bride," said the Rev. Alan Jones, who was to perform the wedding. "Jennifer's alive and we're all thankful for that."

Jones said Mason had no hostility toward his fiancee.

"I have never met such a strong person in all my life," Jones said. "He's an incredible man."

"Having cold feet is a joy compared to what the alternative might have been," friend Melinda Larson, who had planned to attend the wedding, told CNN.

The wedding was going to be a huge bash. The couple had mailed 600 invitations, and the ceremony was to feature 14 bridesmaids and 14 groomsmen.

Wilbanks' uncle, Mike Satterfield, thanked people who had helped in the search and supported the family.

"Jennifer had some issues the family was not aware of. We're looking forward to loving her and talking to her about these issues," he said.

Wilbanks, a medical assistant, was tired and thirsty, but was not complaining of any injuries Saturday, officials said. Wilbanks spoke with six or seven FBI agents, Albuquerque police said.

Wilbanks called family members and Mason collect from a 7-Eleven store pay phone, police said. Police traced the call and Albuquerque officers found her.

She said her abductors had taken her from Duluth in a van. Stepfather Roger Parrish said she told him that two people had approached her from behind while she was jogging. Jennifer later heard the pair talking about wanting money, Parrish said.

"I was crying, I was laughing, I was trying to stay calm to keep her calm," Mason told CNN about his conversation with Wilbanks. After he got off the phone, "it was like the burden of the world off my shoulders," he said.

Ecstatic family members and friends at the Mason residence had celebrated the news that she was alive. A street party broke out with people standing around outside the home, clapping and cheering.

"I am as high as I can get right now without taking any foreign substance," said Claude Mason, future father-in-law. He said the family never lost hope, "we never talked about cancellation of anything. We talked about postponement" of the wedding, he told CNN.

Harris Wilbanks, the father of Jennifer Wilbanks, also expressed gratitude in a telephone interview with CNN, saying "the Lord has restored my faith in people."

"Jennifer is a strong-willed, strong lady, but I have no idea what all she's been through," her father said.

He said he spoke only briefly with his daughter soon after she was with Albuquerque police.

"I was just able to hear her voice and tell her I love her," her father said to CNN.

Just hours before Wilbanks called her fiance, police in Duluth said they had no solid leads in the case and began dismantling a search center. Relatives offered a $100,000 reward for information and were planning a prayer vigil.

The hunt for Wilbanks had consumed Duluth, a tight-knit town. Her picture and newspaper articles about her disappearance were on telephone poles and shop windows. Police had also seized three computers from the home she shared with Mason.

Mason had become a target of suspicion and agreed to a private polygraph test, which Wilbanks' family said he passed. He had been negotiating with authorities for another test.

"That's been the hardest part for me," Mason said after Wilbanks called from Albuquerque. "It gives you a feeling like you can't walk outside your home."

Mason's mother, Vicki, said she felt for her son.

"It was just horrible watching him like that," Vicki Mason said. "The heartbreak of it. He was trying so hard to be brave. I don't know how he held up."

Larson, a friend of both Mason and Wilbanks, said she thought the bride-to-be had no idea her disappearance would draw so much attention.

"Sometimes things take on a life of their own, just like weddings," she said.
-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.[/quote]
( [url="http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/g ... found.html"]Source[/url] )

Thats just wrong... they had a bunch of people looking for her, spent 3 days going over the same stuff over and over... someone should <img src=\'http://www.killanet.net/forum3/public/s ... >/nunu.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\'(sp3c)\' /> her for that ;\
us3rX <img src=\'http://www.killanet.net/forum3/public/s ... /ph34r.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\':ph34r:\' />

[Tami]

While it's great that she's safe and on her way home, the agony she put her family through not to mention all of the police/search resources that were wasted is just not right. Something definitely needs to be done in that department.