Missing Georgia bride-to-be found alive in

[BERIGAN]

Man, never in a million years did I think this story would have a happy ending!

Missing Georgia bride-to-be found alive in New Mexico

DULUTH, Georgia (CNN) -- Three days after Jennifer Wilbanks went missing during a jog near her Georgia home -- and on the eve of what was to be her wedding day -- she has been found alive and well in New Mexico after being freed by kidnappers, family and police said.

Wilbanks, 32, called her fiance, John Mason, at his Duluth, Georgia home from an Albuquerque pay phone at 1:40 a.m. EDT Saturday to say she had freed by two strangers -- a man and a woman -- who abducted her Tuesday night, Mason said.

Within minutes, Wilbanks was located by Albuquerque Police, where she is being questioned by the FBI and where family members will fly to Saturday morning for a reunion.

"She is here and very much safe with us," said Albuquerque Police spokeswoman Trish Ahrensfield.

Police sex crimes detectives are investigating the possibility Wilbanks was sexually assaulted during her kidnapping, based on information she has given police, Ahrensfield said.

Wilbanks, who was to be married to Mason Saturday in a wedding in Duluth, was last seen by her fiance Tuesday night, when she left the Duluth home she shares with him for a jog about 8:30 p.m.

"She was scared," Mason said. "She didn't know where she was."

"Her abductors let her go," said Pastor Alan Jones, who was to preside at the wedding. "They got scared and let her go and she made it to a pay phone and actually called the home."

Wilbanks said her abductors "came up behind her, cut her hand and put her in a blue van," Jones said.

Among the clues found during the search that followed her disappearance was a clump of hair along the route she was believed to have been jogging. Ahrensfield, the Albuquerque Police spokeswoman, said it appeared Wilbanks hair had been cut.

Her father, Harris Wilbanks, said they hope to bring her back soon so the wedding can go on.

"We may invite the whole country to this wedding," Harris Wilbanks said.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/04/30/wilbanks.found/

Edited May 1, 2005 by BERIGAN

[7/4]

I'm watching the Today show and it turns out it's hoax.

Sounded jivey for a while...

[DTMX]

Meh. It's been done before.

[jazzbo]

I'd run away from Weasel Gere too.

[jlhoots]

At least she made it to the Land Of Enchantment.

[doubleM]

"Weasel Gere"?, i thought it was a gerbil!!!

[Brownian Motion]

Man, never in a million years did I think this story would have a happy ending!

You've been watching too many old Hollywood flicks, Berigan.

[Man with the Golden Arm]

 

Ga. Woman Found, Reportedly Got Cold Feet

By MARY PEREA

Associated Press Writer

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - A Georgia bride-to-be who vanished days before her wedding turned up in New Mexico, claiming at first that she had been abducted, then admitting she had gotten cold feet and "needed some time alone," police said Saturday.

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 Randy Belcher, the police chief in Duluth, Ga., the Atlanta suburb where Wilbanks lives with her fiance. 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 late Friday 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 after being picked up by Albuquerque police outside a 7-Eleven and questioned for hours, she recanted.

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."

"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.

The mood outside Wilbanks' home went from jubilant to somber after Wilbanks changed her story. Family members ducked inside and the blinds were drawn.

Hours later, they expressed relief that Wilbanks was safe.

"If you remember all the interviews yesterday we were praying, 'At 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."

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

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.

Wilbanks was disheveled, tired and thirsty, but was not complaining of any injuries, officials said. Authorities will "get her showered, get her something to eat and then reunite her with her family," Albuquerque police spokeswoman Trish Ahrensfield said.

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

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. He had been negotiating with authorities for another test.

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

Mason did not speak publicly after Wilbanks said she lied about being abducted. Her uncle, Mike Satterfield, thanked people who had helped in the search.

"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.

Ryan Kelly, owner of the Park Cafe a few blocks from Wilbanks' house, which gave out coffee and sandwiches to searchers, said he was glad Wilbanks was alive and healthy.

"But that being said, this is one of the most selfish and self-centered acts I've ever seen. We saw her parents, and you could see the anguish in their eyes. It was terrible," he said.

"I don't care where you are - unless you're in the Amazon rain forest, you'd know everybody was out looking for you."

[DTMX]

  

Police had also seized three computers from the home she shared with Mason.

The police called off the search Friday night when they found that her start page had been set for www.greyhound.com.

[Randy Twizzle]

"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.

Free Trade? Social Security Reform? Congressional Fillibusters?

[Jazzmoose]

I think they were talking about the January and March issues of Lesbian Monthly; it came as quite a shock to the fiance, but as he said in the interview, "Hell, I'll give it a go."

[Big Al]

I think they were talking about the January and March issues of Lesbian Monthly; it came as quite a shock to the fiance, but as he said in the interview, "Hell, I'll give it a go."

You are just SICK!!! SICK, I tell you!!!!

Don't ever change!

[ghost of miles]

Ahhh, this story still has nothing on the woman a few years ago who got pregnant while her husband was away and claimed she'd been impregnated by aliens. "It was them aliens!"

[scottb]

So the question is... Would you still marry a girl that pulled that stunt?

[Jazzmoose]

Why of course not; it would make me a bigamist!

[AfricaBrass]

So the question is... Would you still marry a girl that pulled that stunt?

No way!

If she could do something like this, there's something seriously wrong. What's she going to pull next? Just think of the grief that those who love her went through. I don't think she should go to jail for this, but I do think this was a very cruel act.

[chris olivarez]

So the question is... Would you still marry a girl that pulled that stunt?

In a word-no. Unless you really want to live with a totally self centered person the rest of your life and you have no self esteem to boot.

[chris olivarez]

Why of course not; it would make me a bigamist!

Jazzmoose,Jazzmoose.

[Randy Twizzle]

Here's an article that tries to explain the psyche of Wilbanks, a woman who had the good fortune of not turning up dead in an abandoned mine, a muddy pond or a forrest preserve. No drifters wil be arrested tonight and Greyhound gets publicity as the best way to travel when you need to escape from the future hell of writing 600 thank you notes.

ATLANTA - On the surface, Jennifer Wilbanks was a happy bride-to-be who showed no sign to friends or family that she wanted to call off her extravagant wedding. But underneath, as she would later tell police after running away to New Mexico, Wilbanks was scared and not sure she wanted to go through with her big day.

Marriage counselors say Wilbanks' actions are an extreme but understandable reaction to the stress of the wedding and the fear of disappointing others by backing out.

"Sometimes it's like being stuck in a river getting whisked over a waterfall," said Dr. Charles Raison, a psychiatrist and Emory University instructor who has counseled people about marital concerns. "The current is so strong, you can't fight it."

Shame about canceling a wedding at the last minute can lead to feelings of helplessness, counselors say.

"They've committed themselves out there in public, to their partner, their minister, their community, their friends while they've been perhaps nursing some ambivalence, mixed feelings and they feel isolated without being able to share it with anyone," said marriage counselor Andrew Gee. "It's like they've committed themselves to a course of action they're not comfortable with. That would be a nightmare to me."

Police say Wilbanks cut her hair to disguise her appearance so no one would recognize her during her bus trip west. She left her identification, credit cards and diamond ring behind. There was no note, and, for four days, no call home.

Then, late Friday, Wilbanks called her fiance and said she had been kidnapped - a story police later said was made up.

Raison said the size of the wedding - as many as 600 guests and 14 bridesmaids - may have overcome Wilbanks.

"Weddings are terrible stresses on people," he said. "They really try people's relationships, especially when they're one of these big productions."

Dr. Joan Miller, a marriage counselor in Marietta, Ga., said Wilbanks' case of second thoughts before marriage is common, though people don't always react to their situations the same way.

"She had everything planned and had an effective way to address the situation," Miller said. "It's hard to understand what's going on in her head because we're not in her situation."

Gee said some brides-to-be are open with their families about their jitters, while others keep the feelings bottled up.

Running away "seems a little extreme," Gee said. "But it feels extreme if you feel like you're about to break a commitment or you can't break a commitment. So, she resorted to extreme measures it seems."

Another Atlanta marriage counselor, Leslie L. Brenner, said the case suggests better communication is important between couples.

"It's a good wake-up call for everybody going through an engagement," Brenner said.

[Soulstation1]

i guess today was supposed to be their BIG DAY, let's see what happens

ss1

[Brownian Motion]

So the question is... Would you still marry a girl that pulled that stunt?

I think the real question is "Given that I pulled this stunt, should I go through on this marriage anyway?"

[DTMX]

So the question is... Would you still marry a girl that pulled that stunt?

Dude got a get-out-of-jail free card handed to him on a silver platter. He can walk away from this one and no one in the world would blame him.

[Soulstation1]

i'm so sorry, will you still marry me?

Edited May 1, 2005 by Soulstation1

[BERIGAN]

Man, never in a million years did I think this story would have a happy ending!

You've been watching too many old Hollywood flicks, Berigan.

Yep! I guess I was right with my feelings in the first place....

[JSngry]

Red or green?