Los Feliz Slim
04-30-2005, 09:23 AM
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(CNN) -- A Georgia woman, who was found in New Mexico early Saturday and who said she had been abducted, admitted today she had made up the story because she was nervous about her upcoming wedding, police said.
Albuquerque Police Chief Ray Schultz said Jennifer Wilbanks, 32, had told them she had taken a bus to Las Vegas, Nevada, and on Saturday had taken another bus to New Mexico.
Earlier, Wilbanks had told family members and police that she had been abducted by a man and a woman in a van. She was to be married Saturday.
"Agents and detectives learned Miss Wilbanks had become scared and concerned about her pending marriage and decided she needed some time alone," Schultz said.
Police in New Mexico and Georgia said she will face no criminal charges, despite her false kidnapping story.
"It has been determined that Jennifer has some issues the family was not aware of. We're looking forward to loving her and talking with her concerning these issues," family spokesman Mike Satterfield said, reading a statement.
"There have been so many people who helped us through this and we want to thank all of them," Satterfield said.
Abduction claim
Wilbanks called her fiance, John Mason, at his Duluth, Georgia, home from an Albuquerque pay phone at 1 a.m. EDT Saturday to say she had freed by two strangers who abducted her Tuesday night, Mason said.
Within minutes, Albuquerque Police found Wilbanks at a 7-Eleven convenience store.
Wilbanks, who was to be married to Mason in Duluth, was last seen by her fiance Tuesday night, when she left the home she shares with him for a jog about 8:30 p.m.
Earlier, Pastor Alan Jones, who was to preside at the wedding said Wilbanks told him her abductors "came up behind her, cut her hair and put her in a blue van," Jones said.
Schultz said Wilbanks' hair has been cut.
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.
Family members are expected to fly to Albuquerque Saturday morning to be with her.
Disappearance drew national attention
News of Wilbanks' admission comes just hours after police in Georgia announced they would suspend their ground search for her, saying they've looked everywhere she may have been.
Her disappearance quickly drew national media attention, including talk show speculation sometimes comparing the story to that of Laci Peterson, the pregnant woman who disappeared from her Modesto, California, home on Christmas Eve, 2002. In that case, husband Scott Peterson was convicted of murder and sentenced to death.
Wilbanks' fiance said he tried not to get upset about the media comparisons to the Peterson case since he knew her family had faith in him.
"I never worried that they were going to point their fingers at me," Mason said.
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I just watched her friend on CNN defending what she did because of how much "pressure" she was under from planning her wedding.
I'm pretty sure I will not be the only outraged person here.
(CNN) -- A Georgia woman, who was found in New Mexico early Saturday and who said she had been abducted, admitted today she had made up the story because she was nervous about her upcoming wedding, police said.
Albuquerque Police Chief Ray Schultz said Jennifer Wilbanks, 32, had told them she had taken a bus to Las Vegas, Nevada, and on Saturday had taken another bus to New Mexico.
Earlier, Wilbanks had told family members and police that she had been abducted by a man and a woman in a van. She was to be married Saturday.
"Agents and detectives learned Miss Wilbanks had become scared and concerned about her pending marriage and decided she needed some time alone," Schultz said.
Police in New Mexico and Georgia said she will face no criminal charges, despite her false kidnapping story.
"It has been determined that Jennifer has some issues the family was not aware of. We're looking forward to loving her and talking with her concerning these issues," family spokesman Mike Satterfield said, reading a statement.
"There have been so many people who helped us through this and we want to thank all of them," Satterfield said.
Abduction claim
Wilbanks called her fiance, John Mason, at his Duluth, Georgia, home from an Albuquerque pay phone at 1 a.m. EDT Saturday to say she had freed by two strangers who abducted her Tuesday night, Mason said.
Within minutes, Albuquerque Police found Wilbanks at a 7-Eleven convenience store.
Wilbanks, who was to be married to Mason in Duluth, was last seen by her fiance Tuesday night, when she left the home she shares with him for a jog about 8:30 p.m.
Earlier, Pastor Alan Jones, who was to preside at the wedding said Wilbanks told him her abductors "came up behind her, cut her hair and put her in a blue van," Jones said.
Schultz said Wilbanks' hair has been cut.
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.
Family members are expected to fly to Albuquerque Saturday morning to be with her.
Disappearance drew national attention
News of Wilbanks' admission comes just hours after police in Georgia announced they would suspend their ground search for her, saying they've looked everywhere she may have been.
Her disappearance quickly drew national media attention, including talk show speculation sometimes comparing the story to that of Laci Peterson, the pregnant woman who disappeared from her Modesto, California, home on Christmas Eve, 2002. In that case, husband Scott Peterson was convicted of murder and sentenced to death.
Wilbanks' fiance said he tried not to get upset about the media comparisons to the Peterson case since he knew her family had faith in him.
"I never worried that they were going to point their fingers at me," Mason said.
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I just watched her friend on CNN defending what she did because of how much "pressure" she was under from planning her wedding.
I'm pretty sure I will not be the only outraged person here.