DA Mulls Charges For Runaway Bride

A jilted bridegroom and a town full of puzzled residents may not be all that Jennifer Wilbanks faces as she tries to restore her shattered life. There's also the possibility the runaway bride could face charges.

Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter vowed to look into whether Wilbanks, 32, violated the law by reporting a crime that didn't exist after a much-publicized case of cold feet.

Wilbanks initially told authorities she was abducted while jogging, but later disclosed she took a cross-country bus trip to Albuquerque, N.M., to avoid her lavish, 600-guest wedding.

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.

"At first I've got to find out whether or not I can legally do it. I'm not sure of the jurisdiction," Porter said on CBS News' The Early Show. "After that, I'm going to look at all the facts of the case and the pre-med case that's involved and then I'll make a decision whether or not to prosecute."

Porter told Early Show co-anchor Rene Syler that there are some factors that indicate she may have been planning this, specifically that she cut her hair to avoid being recognized even though she told police in Albuquerque that she hopped this bus sort of on the spur of the moment

"There is also some information that she may have purchased the bus ticket before she actually left," Porter said. "That does seem to indicate there was a degree of premeditation there."

An FBI spokesman said that Wilbanks apparently made a sudden decision to flee her looming wedding and did not realize hundreds of people were looking for her. But he also noted she cut her hair to avoid being recognized.

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

Porter said he would speak on Monday to police in Albuquerque, where Wilbanks turned up late Friday and called her fiancée and police to report that she had been kidnapped.

Despite angry calls from some residents, authorities in Albuquerque said they had no plans to charge Wilbanks, though they haven't ruled out the possibility.

"We don't have to charge everybody," said Albuquerque police spokeswoman Trish Ahrensfield. "We have discretion. We are human beings. We have feelings and we are professional at the same time."

By all accounts, authorities in Albuquerque befriended the woman.

Wilbanks boarded her plane wearing a new FBI hat, blazer, polo shirt and pants and carrying a new tote bag and teddy bear, a gift from the aviation police chief. She flew first-class — thanks to tickets bought by her parents — and said she planned to name the bear "Al," for Albuquerque.

"Law enforcement is really making a major move to deal with people in crisis," Albuquerque Police Chief Ray Schulz said Sunday. "Miss Wilbanks was definitely a person in crisis."

But in Georgia, the Gwinnett County district attorney noted that vast law-enforcement resources were used to look for the missing bride for more than three days.

Meanwhile, back in Duluth, her neighbors are relieved to find she's safe and sound, but very upset with the turmoil she put the community through, reports CBS News Correspondent Randall Pinkston.

On Sunday, members of Peachtree Corners Baptist Church, where Wilbanks' fiance, John Mason is a member, said prayers and expressed concern for the couple. Wilbanks and Mason did not attend services Sunday morning.

The Rev. Bob Horner thanked church members who had helped in the search and provided support for family members.

"Number one, we are so thankful that Jennifer has been found," Horner told the congregation. "Number two, I want to publicly thank all of you who prayed and you who went to Duluth to be with the family."

Duluth's mayor, Shirley Fanning-Lasseter, said on The Early Show that many in the town now feel betrayed and a little unappreciated.

"I would like to know that the young lady is okay, and I would certainly hope that she could find in her heart to come out to everybody and just say that she is really sorry for what she did and would make retribution towards that," Lasseter said.

Lasseter says she is also looking into the possibility of suing Wilbanks to recover the cost of the search undertaken after her disappearance. Lasseter puts the cost of that effort at $100,000.

Lasseter wants to hear from Wilbanks' family to see if there should be some other "recourse."

After Wilbanks disappeared last week without her keys, wallet or diamond ring, more than 100 officers led a search that involved several hundred volunteers, including many wedding guests and members of the bridal party.

Porter said he had no jurisdiction over the woman's initial 911 call in Albuquerque, in which she told an operator she was kidnapped by a man and a woman in their 40s who were driving a blue van. Through sobs, she told the dispatcher they had a small handgun. But Porter said Wilbanks could be charged for reporting her kidnapping story over the phone to Duluth Police Chief Randy Belcher.

After being questioned by the FBI, Wilbanks confessed that she had not been abducted. They say she instead had cold feet about her wedding and left Georgia on a bus to Las Vegas. She then took a bus to Albuquerque soon before her call.

Last year, a Wisconsin college student who faked her own abduction and turned up curled in a fetal position in a marsh was given three years' probation for obstructing police and was ordered to repay police at least $9,000 for their search.