Bride-To-Be Was Faking It
Got Cold Feet, Needed Time Alone, She Tells Police
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Play CBS Video Video Missing Bride Had Cold Feet Missing Georgia bride-to-be Jennifer Wilbanks was found in New Mexico after she called police and told them she was abducted. It turns out she ran away from home, Randall Pinkston reports.
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Video Bride's 911 Call Police released a recording of the 911 call placed by Jennifer Wilbanks, the missing bride-to-be who faked her abduction. Wilbanks told the dispatcher that a Hispanic man had taken her hostage.
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Police officers escort a blanket-covered Jennifer Wilbanks through the Albuquerque airport as she is taken to her flight and back to Atlanta. (AP)
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John Mason reacts in front of his home in Duluth, Ga., early Saturday, to news that his bride-to-be, Jennifer Wilbanks had been found alive. (AP)
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Jennifer Wilbanks (AP)
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Photo Essay Runaway Bride A Georgia bride-to-be claimed she was abducted, then admitted she had gotten cold feet.
"Sure, we were all disappointed, maybe a little embarrassed, but you know what, if you remember all the interviews yesterday we were praying, 'At this point let her be a runaway bride,"' said the Rev. Alan Jones, who was to perform the wedding. "So God was faithful. Jennifer's alive and we're all thankful for that."
He said Mason had no hostility toward his fiancee.
Police said Wilbanks was tired, thirsty and "very, very distressed" but in otherwise good physical condition.
Jones said the family had no idea that Wilbanks had fears about the wedding, and he believed she "probably had no clue how it had been blown out of proportion" while she was traveling across the country.
In an area with one of the lowest crime rates in the state, the disappearance of Wilbanks was big local news, reports CBS News Correspondent Randall Pinkston.
Live trucks from Atlanta arrived within hours. Before long it was national news -- and reporters from the networks, cable stations and newspapers began arriving.
"I have never met such a strong person in all my life," Jones said. "He's an incredible man."
More than 600 people had been invited to the wedding bash, and it was to feature 14 bridesmaids and 14 groomsmen.
©MMV, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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