A woman who received national attention after disappearing from Duluth, Ga., has surfaced safely in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Police say Jennifer Wilbanks, 32, initially told them and her fiancé that a man and a woman had abducted her. But, KOB TV reported (www.kobtv.com/index.cfm?viewer=storyviewer&id=18829&cat=HOME), she eventually changed her story and said there was no abduction; she was “scared.”

Albuquerque Police Department spokesperson Trish Ahrensfield said Wilbanks is doing fine, but “she looked a little tired.”

Wilbanks told police she had taken a bus to Las Vegas, Nev., and headed to New Mexico sometime Friday. That’s when she called her fiancé, John Mason, 32, collect from an Albuquerque convenience store.

She was reported missing Tuesday after she failed to return from an evening jog. Her wedding was scheduled for Saturday.

The Reverend Alan Jones, KOB TV reported, said Wilbanks’ fiancé bears her no “hostility” for the families’ ordeal. Jones, who was to perform the wedding, quoted the groom-to-be as saying “everybody has a right to make a mistake.”

Jones said the family has been experiencing “all kinds of emotions,” but mostly they’re relieved.

He added, one report read (http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=717662&page=2), “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’ … So God was faithful. Jennifer’s alive and we’re all thankful for that.”

Mason had to cope with suspicion that he was involved in his fiance’s disappearance. He passed a lie detector test that was administered privately, without police involvement, the New York Post reported (www.nypost.com/news/nationalnews/45625.htm).

Mason had said he’d agree to a police polygraph if the test was videotaped. But the police wouldn’t go along — no police agency “that’s worth anything” would agree to such a condition, the New York Post reported Duluth Police Chief Randy Belcher said.

Family friend Andy Parsons praised Mason. He described him to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/gwinnett/0405/29gone.html) – AJC – as a “very honest, outstanding, Christian gentleman.”

Parsons added that he and Mason regularly study the Bible together, and Mason is involved in another prayer group at Peachtree Corners Baptist Church.

The Associated Press (AP) reported that a restaurant owner who gave out coffee and sandwiches to searchers said he’s glad Wilbanks is OK, but that it was “selfish and self-centered” of her to put her parents through such an ordeal.

“We saw her parents, and you could see the anguish in their eyes. It was terrible,” the restaurant owner told the AP. “I don’t care where you are — unless you’re in the Amazon rain forest, you’d know everybody was out looking for you.”

While the couple’s future is uncertain, the Washington Post reported (www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/04/30/AR2005043000535.html) that Wilbanks’ father was optimistic, telling reporters that the wedding will be rescheduled.

COLD FEET

The AP reported that Wilbanks’ decision to run away was, according to the FBI, made on the “spur of the moment” – sometime after her reported Tuesday evening jog. The spokesman said Wilbanks cut her hair so no one would recognize her.

The AJC (www.ajc.com/news/content/custom/blogs/breaking/entries/2005/04/30/family_makes_a_statement.html) reported that Mike Satterfield, Jennifer Wilbanks’ uncle, and family spokesman, came out of John Mason’s home to issue a brief statement.

“We’re so proud Jennifer is alive and well,” he said. “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.”

Wilbanks’ cold feet were apparently caused by the pressure of the wedding, with which she felt unable to deal.

The AP reported that Ray Schultz, Albuquerque police chief, said Wilbanks “had become scared and concerned about her impending marriage and decided she needed some time alone … It looks like she had enough money to get from Vegas to Albuquerque and this is where she ran out and ended up at … She’s obviously very concerned about the stress that she’s been through, the stress that’s been placed on her family,” Schultz said. “She is very upset.”

THE WEDDING RECEPTION

The AJC further reported (www.ajc.com/news/content/custom/blogs/breaking/entries/2005/04/30/swank_reception_had_been_planned.html) that Wilbanks’ planned-but-now-cancelled wedding reception at the exclusive Atlanta Athletic Club in Duluth (www.atlantaathleticclub.org) would have cost upwards of $10,000.

The country club for the wealthy, with two 18-hold golf courses, indoor and outdoor tennis and many other amenities, the AJC reported, is billed on its Web site as “one of the few facilities on the East Coast that offers” so many services in one place.

The club says it averages at least one wedding reception per weekend, and often two.

Only people who are members or are sponsored by members are allowed to use the facilities.

A timeline of events of the Wilbanks saga is available at www.ajc.com/news/content/custom/blogs/breaking/entries/2005/04/30/timeline_of_events.html

Information on “The Psychology of a Runaway Bride” is at www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,155137,00.html

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