Runaway bride in Georga

[Jumper208]

After all the shit she put him through, he STILL wants to marry her!

DULUTH, Ga. - The man whose jittery bride-to-be skipped town days before her lavish wedding and claimed she had been abducted says that his fiancee wants the "whole world to know she's very, very sorry."

John Mason is defending his fiancee's decision, and says he still wants to walk down the aisle with her. The guilt she is dealing with "has got to be consequence enough to me," Mason said Monday in an interview with Fox News' "Hannity & Colmes" show.

It was Mason's first public statement since he learned on the morning of his wedding day that his intended, Jennifer Wilbanks, had gotten cold feet.

Mason and his fiancee's father, Harris Wilbanks, who also appeared on the show, said the 32-year-old woman was working on releasing a written statement. "She just needs some space and some time," Mason said. "She just wants the whole world to know she's very, very sorry."

But, Carter Brank, an agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, said the would-be bride "didn't come right out and apologize" when he interviewed her. But, "she was somewhat remorseful for what she had done," he said.

If Mason and family members are ready to forgive Wilbanks, authorities are still peeved. Officials are looking into the possibility of suing Wilbanks for the estimated $40,000 to $60,000 cost of searching for her.

"We feel a tad betrayed and some are very hurt about it," Mayor Shirley Lasseter said.

The local prosecutor said Monday he will conduct a thorough investigation, which could take weeks, before deciding whether to charge Wilbanks for falsely claiming she had been kidnapped.

District Attorney Danny Porter said Wilbanks 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 in jail; five years in prison is the maximum sentence for the felony.

Mason said he has given Wilbanks her ring back ? she had left it at the house ? and said they still planned to marry. She was wearing the engagement ring during questioning Monday, authorities said.

"Just because we haven't walked down the aisle, just because we haven't stood in front of 500 people and said our I Do's, my commitment before God to her was the day I bought that ring and put it on her finger, and I'm not backing down from that," Mason said.

At an evening press conference Monday, Duluth Police Chief Randy Belcher provided a chronology for Wilbanks' disappearance. He said Wilbanks bought a Greyhound bus ticket to Austin, Texas, a week before running away April 26. That day, she had a taxi pick her up at the local library and take her to the bus terminal in Atlanta.

She never made it to Austin, instead getting off in Dallas and buying a ticket to Las Vegas. She spent some time there, mostly hanging out at the bus station, before going to Albuquerque, N.M., authorities said.

It was in Albuquerque that she called Mason and police from a pay phone, saying she had been kidnapped. Along the way, she cut her hair.

Mason appealed to the prosecutor not to bring charges. "Her cutting her hair and getting on a bus and riding out of here ain't none of Danny Porter's business," Mason said. "And that's not criminal as far as I'm concerned."

[Stick]

Get over it already.
Jennifer,
Your fifteen minutes of fame is now over but your bill for services rendered for your well being, and spent in your behalf, is in the mail. You will be charged for ALL substantiated cost in the recovery of ALL tax dollars spent in the affair that you admittedly caused. We will use every authority in the recovery of those cost that has been granted us by the electorate of this community.
P.S. Don't you find it amazing that in one short week a whole nation fell in love with you. Fell sucker to your hoax. You deserve at the very least, a slap on the wrist from your family and your fiance. SLAP!!!!!
Now lets get on with another fifteen minutes.

[chilidog]

How many other people go missing for days and nobody even notices?

Chilidog

[SuperScout]

1. Reimburse all governmental agencies for monies spent in search efforts.

2. Seek professional help for being obviously in the category of "not having all the butter on her broccoli."

3. Avoid all future publicity since yoiur 15 minutes has long expired.

4. Continue counseling.

[Packo]

Ron,

Yep, re-read and sorry bout' the "not hurting anyone" thing. Guess I heard that on the radio while posting and added it to your post.

She did call home, supposedly, and stated she had been kidnapped by a hispanic male and white female. She did not call and say, "I got cold feet and ran from the marriage".

She needs to be billed for her silliness, as I stated before. It was not an over-reaction by her fiance'.

Paco

[39mto39g]

If you were a girl,,, and set off 5 bug bombs in your house and left until the smoke cleared and your boyfriend took it upon himself to call 911 on your behalf, Now you are in another city and call home to talk when someone says that the Fire department and police deparment spent all day at your house clearing smoke and looking for you. Should you have to pay for the Fire and police to look for you or should it be the responcability of the person who called 911? and that person did it in good fath.
She didn't call for help. the boyfriend did, the boyfriend did it in good fath so no charge to him. The only thing she did wrong was from New mexice which Georga has no juristiction, Unless the FBI would want to get involved, they could probibly make a federal case because it went across state lines and used FCC regulated means of delivery (phone) .
I just belive that there are real criminal out there and this is a lot to do about nothing and a waste of everyones time.
She will have a very hard time finding help when she needs it.

Ron

[melody1181]

They played a tape on the news of her on a 911 call. She also told the police at first she was kidnapped.

I just think she needs a bill or fine.

[39mto39g]

She did call 911 , but it was to New Mexico police and they don't want to do anything with her.