Atlanta – A bride-to-be whose disappearance prompted a widespread search and commanded national media attention went to the police in Albuquerque early Saturday, telling investigators that she had gotten cold feet days before her wedding and fled.
The woman, Jennifer Wilbanks of Duluth, Ga., was to be married Saturday night in front of more than 500 guests.
When she turned up Saturday, she initially told the police that she had been kidnapped, said Chief Ray Schultz of the Albuquerque Police Department.
But the chief said that under further questioning, Wilbanks admitted she had taken a Greyhound bus from Georgia to Las Vegas, then boarded another bus Friday to Albuquerque, where she called the police from a 7-Eleven store just before midnight.
“Basically she was just very concerned about the pending wedding and very nervous about it,” Schultz said. “She decided that she needed some time alone.”
Local officials in New Mexico and Georgia said no state charges were planned against Wilbanks at this time. Schultz said the case had been turned over to the FBI in Atlanta.
Wilbanks returned later Saturday by plane to Atlanta, where she was picked up in a police squad car on the tarmac – with a towel covering her head – to avoid the media that had gathered inside the terminal.
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, 32, disappeared Tuesday after telling her fiancé that she was going for a jog.
That prompted a widespread search, with police officers and scores of volunteers, including some wedding guests, scouring neighborhoods and riverbanks.
At news of her safety, there was jubilation outside the home of her fiancé, John Mason, where family and friends have gathered over the past four days. Mason, who had been under pressure to take a polygraph test, came out and waved his arms in victory.
Later, however, after news of Wilbanks’ scheme became known, the mood quickly became more subdued.
Hours after the news broke that Wilbanks was safe, a spokesman for the family read a brief statement to reporters outside Mason’s home.
“We’re so proud Jennifer is alive and well,” said the spokesman, Mike Satterfield, who is Wilbanks’ uncle. “It has been determined Jennifer had some issues the family was not aware of. The family would appreciate some time and space to assist Jennifer in dealing with these issues.”
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.
The wedding of Wilbanks and Mason had been described as the social event of the year in Duluth, a suburb of 22,000 a half hour northeast of Atlanta. There were about 600 people on the guest list, and the wedding party included 14 bridesmaids and 14 groomsmen.
A friend said there had been eight wedding showers.
Mason’s family is prominent in the community and has deep roots there. His father, Claude, is a former mayor of Duluth.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.