missing bride is a hoax

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 4:30 am

the bride-to-be hoaxed her poor family. how cruel. i don't care why, all i can see is her poor mom and dad crying and pleading on TV. i suppose there have to be mental health issues.

BTS · Post by **BTS** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 4:34 am

lady cop wrote: the bride-to-be hoaxed her poor family. how cruel. i don't care why, all i can see is her poor mom and dad crying and pleading on TV. i suppose there have to be mental health issues.
Where is the source for this claim?

I see nothing on my news to this effect!

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 4:37 am

BTS wrote: Where is the source for this claim?

I see nothing on my news to this effect!police news conference on CNN in past few minutes. she made the whole kidnap story up.

BTS · Post by **BTS** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 4:41 am

lady cop wrote: FBI news conference on CNN in past few minutes. she made the whole kidnap story up.
Wow......WEIRD.... I hope the family can heal from this.

Makes you wonder if she really wanted to marry the guy in the first place.

As you state it must be a some mental problem or he was abusive and she was afraid to back out of wedding?

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 4:51 am

georgia authorities are not going to press charges, but she should have to pay for the police search expenses.ONE MILLION BUCKS! she initially claimed an hispanic couple kidnapped her.

the torture she put family and friends through is unconscionable. gee, maybe she didn't like the gift choices she made at macy's registry.

BTS · Post by **BTS** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 4:55 am

Police: Ga. Woman Fabricated Kidnap Story

By MARY PEREA

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - A Georgia bride-to-be who vanished just days before her wedding has admitted that she lied about being abducted, police said Saturday.

Jennifer Wilbanks, 32, called her fiance from a pay phone late Friday in New Mexico and told him that she had been kidnapped, police said. She had vanished Tuesday.

``She was in discussion with detectives and agents and she decided that she needed to do the right thing and tell the right story,'' said Ray Schultz, the police chief in Albuquerque.

04/30/05 07:37

Agnes · Post by **Agnes** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 5:05 am

her eyeballs seemed extremely protruding, i immediately could see something in the eyes with this woman. almost reminded me of Terry Schivo in a sense. starved and insecure, she didn;t need to run another mile for her dress to fit. i don't know if this is a Hoax yet.

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 5:08 am

Hi Agnes..it is CONFIRMED by authorities that it's a hoax. and the eyes in her photos could be a thyroid problem or just the photography.

Agnes · Post by **Agnes** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 5:13 am

how nice a thyroid problem, you can see the starvation in her eyes and neck. so if its a hoax she has problems and has now created problems for so many people. good thing she didn't get to the altar, her problems have just begun.

Peg · Post by **Peg** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 6:14 am

I'm waiting to see if her fiance still marries her. If I were him, I'd stay clear of her. What she put him and her parents through is crazy! Her eyes could very well be from a thyroid problem called Graves disease. Her eyes tell me nothing. Her actions speak clearly.

Peg · Post by **Peg** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 6:39 am

ALBUQUERQUE -- A Georgia woman who disappeared just days before her wedding admits she wasn't kidnapped but fled after becoming scared about her upcoming nuptials, police in New Mexico said Saturday.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Video: Search Widens For Missing Bride-To-Be

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jennifer Wilbanks, 32, was reported missing on Tuesday after she didn't return home after saying she was going for a jog.

She called home late last night and her family said she claimed she had been kidnapped by two people in a blue a van.

However, Albuquerque police said while talking to them "she decided that she needed to do the right thing and tell the right story." They say they told her she got on a bus to Las Vegas and later traveled to New Mexico.

The police chief in her home town of Duluth, Ga., said no charges will be filed.

Her family is set to fly to New Mexico to pick her up.

Relatives Friday had asked the public to pray for Wilbanks,

The couple was to be married this weekend in a ceremony with 600 guests and featuring 14 bridesmaids.

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 7:18 am

they're not going to charge her, but the police spent ONE MILLION DOLLARS!! i'd take it out of her sorry anorexic hide....now i wonder if the fiance will be stupid enough to marry her.

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 8:42 am

just watch...this bunch is going to put a pretty, sad, pitiful, sorry-ass face on this story....poor poor girl, boo-hoo---she just needs therapy. what she needs is a few days in a jail cell.

valerie · Post by **valerie** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 8:45 am

Well, I guess maybe I have a little bit different take on this. I'm glad to

hear she's alive, at least.

But now I find myself wondering about the fiance. He didn't want to take

the polygraph, isn't one of the questions on there "Do you know anything

about your fiance's dissappearance?" or various other things like that.

Could it be they both cooked this up for some reason? I dunno, it still

seems fishy to me, now MY radar is up, let alone LC's!

I can't believe someone would do this to so many people, not just her

family and friends... what about everybody out there watching this and

all the searchers... not just a million dollars but the emotional investment

all those people made in trying to find her.

Just a big fat yuck to me.

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 8:57 am

Val, i think the fiance is humiliated..now his love life is going to be analyzed in the media.....imagine how he feels, about to face capital murder charges and his love is willing to throw him under the bus to escape a wedding involving 600 people, tons of money, 28 in wedding party, parents devastated and suffering in public, while she rides a bus....sure i am glad she's not dead, but she is one selfish sick female. if he marries her he is as looney as she is. sorry to be so blunt, but that's how i see it and my sympathy is used up. hello, she could have simply postponed even if a bit inconvenient...but NO, this was a lot less inconvenient. i don't want to hear how the poor girl was stressed over her million dollar wedding. give me a break. she's a whack-job.

robinseggs · Post by **robinseggs** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 11:51 am

I think she thought her parents may get refunds on everything (reguarding the wedding) if she was "abducted"...? Who knows... She is definately mentally ill and needs therapy. Although I don't really think she should go to jail (and she isn't), I DO think she should pay for all the manpower/police efforts and whatever else came to 1 million....if it takes her the rest of her life she owes it--no doubt. I also think she should get on national news and apologize to the nation and all the people that were concerned/helped look for her expecting to find a dead body. I agree, if that John marries her, he is either totally crazy, dumb or maybe he is just a VERY loving forgiving guy. I will say one thing though, can you imagine what might happen when this woman has a baby? Scary! Maybe she will get "nervous" and go to Mexico and sell it! I know...... that was mean

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 5:18 pm

here she is at airport...she SHOULD be ashamed of herself and cover her head. i really hope the city sues her butt.

jahamaa · Post by **jahamaa** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 5:50 pm

flopstock wrote: If she's not committed upon arrival home, she needs to be locked up! This kind of **** is what makes me crazy. Ya know what? Sorry as hell if her wedding was stressing her out, and she was having doubts! SHE'S an adult. She should be expected to act like an adult. And the fact that she came up with the kidnapping story at all, tells me she wan't completely whacked, because she was worried about 'looking' irresponcible! I just hope he changes the locks on the apartment and starts throwing her crap out the front window.

Sometimes women make it REAL HARD to be a member of the same sex. :-5

I agree 100%.

We all know that usually in these cases it is the boyfriend that did something to the women so this guy lived for days with millions nationwide as well as his co-workers and neighbors suspicious of him. I hope he has the sense to run as far as possible from this woman.

CARLA · Post by **CARLA** » Sat Apr 30, 2005 8:23 pm

This girl is a strange duck.. I feel for the guy.. I agree he should run as far away from her as possible.. and don't look back.. :-3

weeder · Post by **weeder** » Sun May 01, 2005 2:17 am

If thats a sruffed animal under that towel on her head......I think we can all be certain... shes got a few ISSUES.

weeder · Post by **weeder** » Sun May 01, 2005 7:26 am

I come in contact on a regular basis with adult men and women who crave an inordinate amount of attention, on a constant level. In light of the recent horiffic Lacey Peterson murder... And in respect for the young children who have been missing and found murdered.... she should face consequencces for her actions. How about the police officers looking for her who might have missed looking for someone whos life was in danger?

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Sun May 01, 2005 7:48 am

wedding is "postponed" not cancelled...if he marries her he is as crazy as she is.

Der Wulf · Post by **Der Wulf** » Sun May 01, 2005 3:30 pm

Will this be enough punishment, or do we hafta burn her at the stake??

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Sun May 01, 2005 6:26 pm

CNN reporting now that she bought the bus ticket days in advance, so this was planned, not impulsive. so what she put her family, friends, city, & country through was the supreme act of selfishness and cruelty. oh, and on the plane home she had the gall to have it announced on the PA that the wedding was still on.

if it is, he is a whack-job too. no Wulf, burning's too good for her. might make her a martyr. i'd like to see her picking up trash along the roadways for a couple years.

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Sun May 01, 2005 7:31 pm

Runaway Bride May Face Charges In Georgia

Some Feel Betrayed By Hoax

POSTED: 10:30 am EDT April 29, 2005

UPDATED: 10:17 pm EDT May 1, 2005

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- A prosecutor said Sunday that he wants to review whether the runaway bride-to-be who admitted she made up a kidnapping story should be charged for making false statements to the police.

Police escort a blanket-covered Jennifer Wilbanks to her flight from Albuquerque to Atlanta.

Opinion: Should Charges Be Filed? | Discuss

Video: 911 Call | Woman Admits Lying

Jennifer Wilbanks returned to this tight-knit town on Saturday after a cross-country bus trip took her through Las Vegas, Nev., to Albuquerque, N.M., as hundreds of volunteers searched for her.

She initially told authorities she had been abducted while jogging, but eventually admitted her kidnapping story was fabricated and she had run away because she had cold feet for her wedding, which was planned for Saturday.

Police initially said there would be no criminal charges, but Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter said Sunday that he was still looking into the matter.

"I think it's really going to depend on the circumstances on how this was done," Porter said. "If there's criminal responsibility, that's something I have to do something about."

Porter said the 32-year-old woman could face a misdemeanor charge of false report of a crime or a felony charge of false statements. The misdemeanor carries a penalty of up to a year of jail time and the felony carries a maximum of 5 years of prison.

The charges potentially would stem from Wilbanks reporting her kidnapping story on the phone to Duluth Police Chief Randy Belcher, Porter said, adding that he had no jurisdiction over the woman's 911 call to Albuquerque authorities.

Members of Peachtree Corners Baptist Church, where she was scheduled to be married, said prayers and expressed concern on Sunday for her and her fiance, John Mason.

But some residents of this Atlanta suburb felt betrayed by what turned out to be an elaborate hoax. Volunteers had searched woods and alleys, crawled in sewage drains and stayed up late looking for Wilbanks.

"I'm glad that she's alive and OK, but it was a dirty trick," said Louise McCoy, waiting in line at the Duluth post office Saturday -- the same day Wilbanks was supposed to be married in a lavish ceremony that included 14 bridesmaids and 14 groomsmen.

More than 100 officers led a search that involved several hundred volunteers, including many wedding guests and members of the bridal party.

A Wisconsin college student who faked her own abduction last year and turned up curled in a fetal position in a marsh was ordered to repay police at least $9,000 for their search. She pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of obstructing officers and was given three years' probation.

Wilbanks returned Saturday by plane to Atlanta, where she was picked up in a squad car on the tarmac -- with a towel covering her head -- to avoid the media.

There were no family members at the airport to greet her, but her stepfather and an uncle had flown to Albuquerque to escort her home, authorities said.

Wilbanks decided to call her fiance and police with the story about the kidnapping when she found herself broke in Albuquerque, according to authorities.

In her 911 call, Wilbanks sounds frantic and confused, telling an operator she was kidnapped from Atlanta by a man and a woman in their 40s who were driving a blue van. Through sobs, she tells the dispatcher they had a small handgun.

At one point, the operator asks if Wilbanks knows what direction her captors went after dropping her off in Albuquerque.

"I have no idea. I don't even know where I am," she says.

Moments after the word came Saturday that Wilbanks fled town and hadn't been kidnapped, most of the police who'd been guarding her house since Tuesday night pulled away. Fliers with Wilbanks' picture were pulled down from local store windows. Some residents removed yellow ribbons they'd put on their mailboxes.

After police reported the hoax, the mood outside Wilbanks' home went from jubilant to somber. Family members ducked inside and the blinds were drawn. They later expressed relief that she was safe.

"Sure, we were all disappointed, maybe a little embarrassed, but you know what, 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. "So God was faithful. Jennifer's alive and we're all thankful for that."

Philadelphia Eagle · Post by **Philadelphia Eagle** » Mon May 02, 2005 8:54 am

In an AOL poll today 79% of respondents said that the D.A. should prosecute.

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Tue May 03, 2005 7:33 pm

the DA is taking it to a grand jury. i could kiss him.

LWR VENTURES · Post by **LWR VENTURES** » Tue May 03, 2005 7:44 pm

I have somewhat of a different take. She did not break any laws. She just left. Did the law require her to tell anyone when, where, or why, she was going? Did she loose all her freedoms because she was engaged. Of course what she did was rude and inconsiderate to say the least. But not illegal. That is why charges had not been brought. Now she did tell authorities she had been kidnapped. But that was after the search had already been under way. She did not cause the search to be initiated. Her family did. Of course any family would do this. But can you hold her responsible. If she had not recanted the kidnapping story almost immediately. She could have been charged with filing a false report. But that is the only thing, I can see, that she did, that would be illegal.

Like I said filing a false report is illegal. But it was not that report that created the search or the media attention. She also recanted it right after she said it. IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m certainly not defending her irresponsible behavior. But sending some one to jail, or criminal charges, for simply hitting the road in the land of the free, seems a bit much as well. I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t agree with every thing people do. IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m just against legislating our freedoms to death. IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m sure the grief her family will give her will be punishment enough. Not to mention the public, who because of the media attention, now think that they have a say in this private matter. Just my take!

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Tue May 03, 2005 7:46 pm

she committed a FELONY the moment she told the georgia police chief on the phone that she had been kidnapped. and she DID do that. that's why it's going to the grand jury.

LWR VENTURES · Post by **LWR VENTURES** » Tue May 03, 2005 7:58 pm

Alrighty then. Lets start locking up all the liars too. After all. There is

plenty of room in our prisons. My opinion. This has been blown well out of proportion. Yes she committed a crime by lying. But she recanted it quickly. I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t think that it was the lie that created all the attention. Sames to me that when it got out of hand, she tried to come up with something. IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m sure it was not the smartest thing to tell the police. But really? Jail time?

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Tue May 03, 2005 8:02 pm

she'll never see the inside of a jail. but why should she NOT be charged? do we pick and choose who gets to commit felonies? the resources spent by the state are only the beginning of the damage done. and the city is going to sue her on the civil side for the expenses. rightfully so.

BTS · Post by **BTS** » Tue May 03, 2005 8:04 pm

lady cop wrote: she committed a FELONY the moment she told the georgia police chief on the phone that she had been kidnapped. and she DID do that. that's why it's going to the grand jury.
LC:

Did she tell the GA police this or just the 911 operator in Albuquerque NM

that she was kidnapped?

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Tue May 03, 2005 8:05 pm

BTS wrote: LC:

Did she tell the GA police this or just the 911 operator in Albuquerque NM

that she was kidnapped? she said it IN DETAIL to the georgia police chief.

nvalleyvee · Post by **nvalleyvee** » Tue May 03, 2005 8:07 pm

I'm from ALBQ and it's too expensive to press charges against her here - we have illegals to go after - not scared brides-to-be. if she had any fortitude of character - this would have never happened.

LWR VENTURES · Post by **LWR VENTURES** » Tue May 03, 2005 8:12 pm

OK. Question. Were those resources spent as a result of the lie she told the police? I was under the impression that the search and media blitz was already underway before they even talked to her. These are tax payers resources that were initiated by tax payers( her family), were they not? Can she be held liable for that? Are we to conclude that the government must always know where we are at , and what we are doing. Am I giving you a head ache Lady Cop? LOL!

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Tue May 03, 2005 8:16 pm

no headache LWR, i always respect your opinion! and we usually agree.

....she IS liable because she planned this in advance and any reasonable person (the legal standard) would have known a search ensued. it cost a fortune in police OT alone.

BTS · Post by **BTS** » Tue May 03, 2005 8:22 pm

lady cop wrote: she said it IN DETAIL to the georgia police chief. Nuff said......... And I understand the DA from Fulton county is weighing his options still.

In my opinion I think she will be charged for the police search time. I am sure her family can handle it, as a wedding of 600 people is not cheap. They must be pretty well off..........

I also think she needs a good trip to the woodshed.............

nvalleyvee · Post by **nvalleyvee** » Tue May 03, 2005 8:22 pm

I think it is too bad there are no repercussions in NM - she DID take away from people who truly needed police assistance. I did not mean to make light of the fact that we have more pressings police matters than scared brides

nvalleyvee · Post by **nvalleyvee** » Tue May 03, 2005 8:24 pm

The wood shed sounds good to me

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Tue May 03, 2005 8:33 pm

although they are not responsible, she is 32 after all, her family had $100 K in reward monies...pay back the city. but that does not negate her criminal responsibility...time for her to be an adult and face the repercussions of lying to LE. if she were some poor person we'd charge her sorry arse. so why not her? the law applies to everybody. and let's face it, some smarmy defense person will get her off, she has money. everyone kicks and screams about the wealthy not having to face the legal music. well here's a good starting point.

LWR VENTURES · Post by **LWR VENTURES** » Tue May 03, 2005 8:34 pm

Thanks Lady Cop. IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m not sure that planning to leave makes her responsible for the actions initiated by her loved ones. It is definitely an irresponsible thing to do. Police Officers work way to many long hours. I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t think that it is safe for them, or the public for them to do so. Sort of like the doctor on a 80 hour week. But this is because the politicians believe they come out cheaper by paying overtime than to hire a sufficient number of officers. Also not the R.A.Bs fault. I do agree with you on this as far as legalities go. But the law was not designed to destroy our freedoms . Although it can easily be used to do just that. I just think that because of the media, too much was made of this.

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Tue May 03, 2005 8:40 pm

LWR...we cross-posted....that's apples and oranges. the media coverage does not remove her criminal intent. she was perfectly free to back out of her wedding and go to timbucktu...she was not free to lie to LE. that's the bottom line.