NEWS: Missing Bride-to-Be Found in New Mexico (Update: Abduction a Hoax)

Valhall and Rant you have me rolling on the floor with those photos and comments. I love the "eHarmony has found your perfect match", classic.

I know a couple of girls that were runaway brides. I'm going to have to pick their brains on this one. I can understand cold feet, but the planning behind this speaks a different story. I don't think she should be prosecuted. Maybe a slight slap on the wrist for the hour that she claimed to have been kidnapped. She certainly didn't last very long under questioning. A person that takes off and doesn't tell a soul is strange, rude, and selfish......but, they have not commited a crime.

There is no way this women should get off scott free. Maybe not jail time, but she should face some kind of repercussion IMO.

Maybe someone could donate a set of eyelids for the poor lady, though.

Looking at her pictures with the eyes bugging out - I wonder if she has thyroid or graves disease -- that is one symptom. Or if maybe she got someone really liberal with botox injections or a major brow lift.

Another perfect example of how Prominence buys you Ignorance.

News channels are now reporting that there may be criminal charges. They are waiting to see what statements she made to the police and FBI when they first found her. The fact that originally it was stated that no criminal charges would be filed and now they are saying that criminal charges MAY be filed, makes me think that maybe the public, especially those in Deluth, are very angry that they spent time and energy getting worked up over a hoax.

Personally I'm pretty sick of seeing the clips of the family spokesperson (I think it's their pastor or something) saying that we all need to practice forgiveness and that when she returns home they all should 'love on her' to help her through whatever issues she has. Give me a break. This woman basically terrorized her family and friends, put them through hell while thinking only of herself and everyone should just sit back, offer forgiveness and 'love on her'?

Jemison

I don't think prominence buys ignorance.

It does seem to cushion the ignorant from the fallout though, doesn't it?

S'shame, really.

its totally a shame..i meant ignorance in the sense of the cops and da...umm its cool...what investigation....hair and coat off trail duuuh dats funny..

ya know the playin dumb routine...

Im with ya tho, if they are prominent at least just bill her..havent seen a poor prominent person yet. And the pics are killin me...im hatin to see the offspring. too dang funny

I would suggest community service hours at the maximum. Hopefully they will keep her away from serving those hours at a crisis center. Most likely they will want to make an example of her though, there is a lot of media coverage afterall.

Shes a gutless coward. I had to call off my wedding 1 week before the bridal shower and 2 weeks before the wedding. She wasnt "the one". If i can do it, so can she.

This is something I expect out of my 8 year old, not a grown woman. I wonder how many kids or adults actually went missing over the few days that this "story" was covered. How many of them made it to the news. This chick deserves a couple of months behind bars. What if it was a guy that did that. They'd be brutal on him. Just another shining example of media bias. Next thing they'll say is that she was abused or something. This is pathetic.

They searched woods and alleys, crawled in sewage drains and stayed up late looking for a local woman who went missing four days before her wedding.

When residents of this Atlanta suburb learned that Jennifer Wilbanks ran away because she had cold feet, they thanked God she was safe — then shook their heads at her act. (Related story: Bride found in New Mexico, fabricated kidnap story)

"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 on the day Wilbanks was supposed to be married in a lavish ceremony that included 14 bridesmaids and 14 groomsmen.

Moments after the word came Saturday that Wilbanks, 32, 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

www.usatoday.com...

Well, Fox News, for one, is all over this story. They're playing her taped 911 call here in ABQ and interviewing angry townspeople. Every picture I've seen of her and there have been quite a few now, she has those huge eyes. I think there is still much to be known about this case.

[edit on 05/4/30 by GradyPhilpott]

What does her 911 call say? One news channel we were watching had the 911 call but didn't have the words and it was totally inaudible. They may have fixed the problem now but I haven't seen any additional coverage.

I'm still wondering when her family and friends will get over the elation of her being alive and start getting really angry ... what a mess!

Jemison

www.cnn.com...

her family posted a $100,000 reward for her return or the arrest and conviction of those responsible for her disappearance.

She was responsible for her own disappearance. There, I said it, now lock her up and I'll testify as to her guilt. I'll take a check now thanks.

Originally, there were going to be several family members fly to ABQ to get her, but only her step-father actually came. I would suspect that her family members are coming back down to earth and will be expecting some serious 'splainin'. Live footage from the ABQ airport, showed her being escorted through the airport with a sweater or some such over her head. I would suggest that she have made a fashionable sack to wear over her head for the rest of her life.



www.msnbc.msn.com...

I don't know how it will unfold, but eventually we will learn that she's a victim and her actions were perfectly understandable and any woman would have done the same thing when faced with marrying a well-to-do man from a well-to-do family with political connections. Gloria Allred and Oprah are probably working out those angles as I write.

FLASH!

I got interrupted from writing this and this popped up on my news aggregate program:

Counselors: Stress Got to Runaway Bride

Experts Say Behavior of Runaway Bride Is Extreme Yet Understandable Reaction to Wedding Stress

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."

abcnews.go.com...

See! I didn't get this post finished before the apologists came out of the woodwork. It reminds me of the forest ranger in Colorado who started one of the devastating fires that plagued the Southwest a few years back. Every time it was mentioned in the media, we were reminded that she started the fire while burning a letter from her "estranged husband." Never mind that she was a forest ranger who knew of the dangers of open fires in the forest or that she lied and covered up her actions. Somehow, it was implied that the "estranged husband" had some part in the matter. It didn't work, though.

Some links about the scorned forest ranger for your reading pleasure. There are some entertaining takes on this matter:

www.worldnetdaily.com...

www.glennsacks.com...

archives.tcm.ie...

slate.msn.com...

www.cfif.org...

www.caa.co.za...


EDIT: added photo


[edit on 05/4/30 by GradyPhilpott]

Grady
I hope this won't in any way affect my reward...

Maybe I should be generous and split it with her stepfather, since he drove out to pick her up?

And by the way, I think the sack idea might be necessary, the people in her town are pissed. The guy from the sub shop thinks she's despicable..wonder if that'll effect her ability to converse pleasantly with him while waiting for her 6" veggie with no mayo...

Seriously..this woman is going to be surrounded by sympathetic smiles in close proximity, and raised eyebrows and dissaproving glares at a distance. She's made her bed, the question is, will she lie in it?

Badum bum ching.

I dont think she'll be forced to lie in it. I think that enough people will make excuses for her and she'll go into hiding for awhile, maybe even move, and she'll never have to face up to what she's done. She couldn't handle the stress of a WEDDING ... do you really think she can handle the stress of dealing with the media scrutinizing her?

Jemison

What I want to know is: If she can't handle the stress of a wedding, how the hell is she going to handle the stress of a marriage? That's like saying you can't stand to sit through a single episode of Friends, but you're willing to watch the 70 year marathon starting next month.

Actually, Jennifer is an ATS lurker, who having read my myriad works here and recognizing true genius, became enamored and fearing that she would be sentencing herself to a lifetime of grief and frustration, took off on a circuitous route to ABQ in search of her soul-mate. And to think she was barely four miles from my abode.

I'm so full of myself!


[edit on 05/4/30 by GradyPhilpott]

I too saw the photos of this woman on the news, with those wide open eyes and toothy smile. I got the feeling this gal was a few bricks short of a full load.

Who the heck smiles like that?

Lock her up and give her a 72 hr evaluation. She is one messed up chick. Not only does she look a little mentle what about the groom to be. I am glad that he is inicint ! But there is definetly more to this story.

They also need to press charges against these people who tie up state and federal agencies. This is totally ridiculous ! She is not all upstairs !

Koo Koo, Koo Koo !!!!

:

Whats even worse is that the major news networks are crying about her being found. "No, why god, why? We just cleared 3 days next wee dedicated to her fiance's trial for killing her. Why did she have to be ok? I want another Peterson trial, I don't have to do anything but sit here and smile like an idiot while some trial expert rambles on for a few hours. Why god did you not strike her down so we would have something to cover next week?"

Sad, so sad.