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CNN Saturday Morning News
Missing Bride Alive: Cold Feet
Aired April 30, 2005 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome back, everyone. I'm Tony Harris to CNN's coverage of the missing bride-to-be, found alive early this morning. This is a story obviously getting national coverage for days as police and family, friends and people searching for Jennifer Wilbanks feared the worst, but now are happy to know that she is alive.
I want to give you a quick update. We're expecting at any moment now to hear from the pastor who was set to marry Jennifer and John later this evening. When that press conference happens, we'll take you there live.
NGUYEN: And we've been on the air for hours now. And the story has taken so many dramatic twists and turns several times already this morning. Here is has we know so far: a missing bride-to-be is a runaway bride-to-be. A Georgia woman who vanished Tuesday evening surfaced today. Now, she is fine and perhaps a bit embarrassed. Jennifer Wilbanks turned up today in Albuquerque, New Mexico. At first, she told police she been kidnapped. Well, now she admits she simply got cold feet.
Wilbanks hopped on a Greyhound bus to Las Vegas Tuesday night and then got on another bus to New Mexico. She called her fiance in the middle of the night from a pay phone, telling him her tall tale. And a few hours later, Wilbanks admitted to police that she had made up the abduction story and she couldn't handle the pressure of a big wedding. Wilbanks was to be married tonight in a huge ceremony in Duluth, Georgia, so large it would have dwarfed the recent marriage of Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla.
HARRIS: Wow.
NGUYEN: 600 invitations had been mailed. The wedding party consisted of 28 attendants. Police say Wilbanks even changed her appearance, cutting her long, shoulder-length hair. But authorities don't plan to file any charges.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF RAY SCHULTZ, ALBUQUERQUE POLICE DEPT: At approximately 4:00 a.m. this morning, Miss Wilbanks informed agents and detectives she had not been abducted, as she had originally claimed. Agents and detectives learned that Miss Wilbanks had become scared and concerned about her pending marriage and decided that she needed some time alone.
Miss Wilbanks had traveled from the Georgia area to Las Vegas, Nevada, via bus. Earlier today, she traveled from Las Vegas back to the Albuquerque area, again via bus, arriving this evening. She remained in the Albuquerque area, traveling around the southeast area heights, until approximately 23:38 hours, when she called 911.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: And as we continue our coverage of this developing story, a couple of notes to bring to you. We're expecting any moment to hear from the pastor who was scheduled to marry John and Jennifer later this evening in Duluth, Georgia. When that press conference begins, we will take you to Duluth live.
But right now, let's go to John Mason's home in Duluth, Georgia, where the celebration certainly has turned to stunned disbelief this morning. CNN's Charles Molineaux is there for us live. And Charles, if you would, walk us through this rollercoaster of a day.
CHARLEX MOLINEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, and it has certainly been one, Tony. And now, of course, the weather providing a little dramatic punctuation to the situation. It's pouring rain outside of John Mason's home here in Duluth, Georgia. This has been the center of this drama throughout as it has taken its twists and turns.
Of course, John Mason was the one who originally reported that Jennifer was missing on Tuesday evening when she didn't come back from a jog. Well, that search became broader and broader over the course of the next three days, as police searched all over Duluth, trying to figure out where she might have gone. Search scenario five square miles, three times, over and over again, trying to get some clues to what might have happened to her.
There were clothes found, there was hair found. There was a lot of concern that something really awful of might have happened. Well, then, last night, about 1:45 in the morning, a call came in to John Mason from Jennifer, announcing that she was OK, that she didn't know where she was, that she had been kidnapped by two people in a van. A man and a woman, that they had wanted money. She told this to her father, she told this to her mother.
Well then at about 7:00 this morning, Eastern time, we got word from Albuquerque, where it turns out Jennifer was, that she had apparently made it up. The family now says that it seems that there was some issues with this huge wedding scheduled for today about which the family was unaware that Jennifer was feeling, and apparently concluded that, well, there was some problem, and that's when she took off. And what was in her mind, we can only begin to guess and perhaps we'll find out.
But an awful lot of questions flying around, in a situation that looked like one of unequivocable joy and relief that Jennifer was alive, has now turned into one of considerable equivocation. But the fact is that she is OK and that is something that her family is holding on to, but the situation's become a lot more solemn, even as there is the relief that she is OK and her parents prepare to head out to Albuquerque for a reunion with her. HARRIS: And Charles, it is going to be absolutely amazing to any number of people out in that area of Duluth, Sewanee, Preside (ph) County, the city of Cumming (ph), to find out that this is how this story has come to an end. Remember, as I know you do, that this was an extensive search. I mean, we're talking about people who, once they heard that Jennifer was missing, they just came from everywhere to volunteer to be a part of this search, somewhere close to 300 people. We're talking about a mix of volunteers, of law enforcement. There were canines, as I recall, bloodhounds.
MOLINEAUX: Yes, there...
HARRIS: Yes.
MOLINEAUX: Oh, Tony, the works. We are in Gwinnett County outside of Atlanta. Police of Gwinnett County. Next door is Hall County. Police in Hall County were searching. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation had hundreds of volunteers. It was a story that grabbed people by the guts, and they wanted to get involved. There is a sizable Hispanic community around here. People were getting involved, passing out fliers in Spanish asking if anybody had seen Jennifer. And keeping in mind, of course, that also these were two very prominent families that were going to be getting together in this wedding, this wedding that was going to be so big.
Now, within just the next couple of minutes, as you can see over on the front porch of the Mason home, we are hoping to get some more insights and certainly some ideas as to how the family is holding up from the assistant pastor, who was going to be guy to marry them.
Alan Jones, assistant pastor from the Peachtree Corners Baptist Church, he was the one who counseled them on their way to their wedding. He was the one who ended up counseling this family as they dealt with the fact that Jennifer had disappeared and something awful may have happened. And, well, now he's being called on to do some more counseling as the situation becomes a very tough and personal one for a couple and for two families.
HARRIS: And Charles, I try to think about this from a number of different perspectives and I'm thinking about John Mason this morning. And this is -- this is a guy who went from...
MOLINEAUX: Has been through the wringer.
HARRIS: He really has. Why don't you sum that up for us?
MOLINEAUX: Well, John, of course, was the one who originally reported Jennifer missing on Tuesday evening. They were planning this big wedding. It was going to be a colossal event. Then, of course, came the concern that Jennifer had disappeared. And as the hours ticked on and she didn't reappear, and police searched and didn't find anything, and -- questions began to emerge about him.
He took a lie detector test, commissioned by a private investigator to do that test, and there was talk about the Georgia Bureau of Investigation conducting a lie detector test on him, and there was back and forth between him and his attorneys and the GBI and the police, and suspicions began to float around him...
HARRIS: Charles, Charles, let me jump in for a second. The pastor is speaking.
MOLINEAUX: Very good. All right. This is Alan Jones.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
REV. ALAN JONES, ASSOC. PASTOR, PEACHTREE CORNERS BAPTIST CHURCH: canceled at Duluth First Methodist Church. And you guys could help get that message out. Also, just to introduce myself, I'm Alan Jones, and I'm an associate pastor at my church. I had a good relationship with John Mason, and I had the privilege of him asking me to do the wedding for he and Jennifer, so I formed a relationship with him during the past few months. Also, somehow earned the privilege and the trust of the family to minister to them and it's been quite an honor during this fiasco that we've been going through together for the past week.
The first question, obviously, is how's John Mason? John Mason is experiencing something right now that probably nobody in this country has experienced in such a great way, with the media attention and the things that have been brought forth. John is a man of faith, and as I've been saying all the way through.
And I want to quote something that John said to both families about an hour ago. John said everybody has a right to make a mistake. He said the bible calls that sin. And he said the bible also says that every time we sin, we crucify Christ anew and Christ forgives us, and that's what grace is all about. I have never met such a strong person in all my life. John has spoken with Jennifer. There's no hostility. Obviously, there's all kinds of emotions, and I can't speak for John, but he's an incredible man.
So beyond all the other emotions, there's a spirit of celebration that we have Jennifer. The churches, the community, have been incredible to support families through this time. Churches have come out to support them, even these guys that are with me right now, who are here just helping the family. And we'll continue to do that. We'll continue to encourage John.
We need to ask the country to continue praying for this family because there's a lot of pain. Nobody in this house had one idea of what had happened. Nobody. I've been asked many times, you've been counseling with them for three months. I counseled with them Sunday night, and I had no idea. I had no idea.
I don't know about future wedding plans. I can't speak for that. I will speak for John. He's probably not going to be talking to the media for a couple of days, since he's had no sleep. And John's inside now resting. But, again, thank you. Keep us in your prayers. Keep Jennifer if your prayers. Jennifer needs help. We know that. And we want to help the family, and we want to get her help.
You know, this is something that no one's experienced on this magnitude. Jennifer had no idea what was going on in the media. From what we understand, the buses that she was on, the bus station, that she was in, had no TVS, and probably had no clue how it had been blown out of proportion. But, again, thank you for your help, God bless you and have a great day.
QUESTION: Is there any hostility between the families at this point?
HARRIS: And there you have. The latest statement from the family, that from Reverend Alan Jones, the man who was prepared to wed, to perform the ceremony tonight for John and Jennifer. That, as he mentioned, won't be happening for obvious reasons.
She is in Albuquerque, New Mexico, actually awaiting her family that is supposed to board a plan at about 11:00 this morning and make its way to Albuquerque for that reunion. Reverend Jones saying that first and foremost, his thoughts are with both of these young people, but certainly with John Mason, who has been through what he's described as a real ordeal. And I think we can certainly understand that. This is a young man who has gone from his fiance missing and thinking that perhaps the worst was possible, to finding out that well, he was left before he even got to the altar to wed his fiance, Jennifer.
HARRIS: Let's bring Charles Molineaux back in here and let's talk through this a little bit more. He talked about -- John Mason said that this was a mistake that she had made. He talked about this human drama that this family has had to endure over the last three, going on four, days now, since her disappearance on Tuesday evening.
And Charles talked about the incredible swings of emotions through this morning, going from about 1:40 or 2:00 this morning -- whatever timeframe you want to put on it, early this morning, the small hours of the morning -- where there was 150 people, the pastor described, in that front yard, just cheering, applauding, hugging, kissing one another, to the reactions, the stunned reactions a short time later, once it was made clear that this story had taken another shocking turn of events.
MOLINEAUX: Oh, Tony, the silence was just devastating this morning. And so remarkable, just because it was such a dramatic contrast from what we saw earlier. When we heard the news that Jennifer was OK, that she been found, there were spontaneous outbursts applause, time and time again, as various news developments came along. We saw these screaming, joyous hugs going on all over the lawn.
Associate pastor had it right. There were, in fact, hundreds of people here in what was a party. They were just rejoicing over the fact that Jennifer was okay, and that this wedding, they thought, at the time, was going to go ahead.
Now, of course, the fact is that John Mason is far from the first guy to be abandoned on the eve of his wedding, but as Pastor Jones put it, very few people, maybe nobody, has had it happen to them quite in this way, in such incredible scrutiny. The entire country has been looking at this situation as it unfolds, concerned about Jennifer's disappearance on the eve of her wedding and now to find out that this was, in fact, actually what many of her relatives and friends were only praying for yesterday, as Pastor Jones pointed out, that she was, in fact, a runaway bride.
Keep in mind, this is something that they were hoping for when the alternative might very well have been something truly tragic happening to her. Well, fortunately and unfortunately, their prayers have been fulfilled and it turns out that she came down she came down with severe misgivings or issues about this wedding and took off. And this is something that this family's going to have to recover from.
As he put it, everybody makes a mistake, but he also reminded us that Christ forgives everybody, and this is going to be a time for an awful lot of forgiveness between these two families. Also something Pastor Jones did mention was the fact that apparently John has spoken to Jennifer on the phone, that they did, in fact, speak, that there was all kinds of emotion in their contact, that there was no hostility.
But obviously, there's going to be an awful lot for this couple to go through, and what happens from here on in is what would normally be a very quiet, interpersonal matter between two people, except, of course, that the way this has unfolded has been much more so, with hundreds of people involved, police, interstate, the FBI and, of course, the media watching this story anxiously, hoping that Jennifer would turn out to be okay. Now we know she is, but the story is a little more complicated than that -- Tony.
HARRIS: OK, you can understand that people are very happy at the news that she is alive and well today, but you wonder how folks will be thinking about this story on both sides of this family a couple of days from now. Charles, we appreciate it. Thank you.
NGUYEN: So if you're just joining us, a story that prompted a three-day nationwide search and an oh-my-gosh ending this morning. Georgia bride-to-be Jennifer Wilbanks turned up in New Mexico today. She initially told Albuquerque police she had been abducted Tuesday night. Well, now Wilbanks admits she had a case of cold feet. She was to be married tonight in a huge wedding in suburban Atlanta. Police say she couldn't handle the pressure. Police don't plan to file any criminal charges at this time, although that has not been made just official as of yet. So we will have to keep watch on that.
But here's the question today: what made Jennifer Wilbanks run away? What might have been going through her mind? Right now we want to turn to psychologist Pat Brown. She is in Minneapolis to kind of help us sort this all out. All right. Huge wedding. A lot of pressure. Is it enough to make somebody run away? Obviously, it is.
PAT BROWN, PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, let's start out with I'm not a psychologist, I'm a criminal profiler. So, let me straighten that out.
NGUYEN: OK.
BROWN: But I have to agree with the reverend that I'm going through a lot of emotions, as well, but they're not the same ones he's going through. I'm going through disgust and I'm really angry and I don't understand why there is so much minimization of what has happened here, what Jennifer has done. She did not simply run away. That is a minimization. What she did, she planned this, I think, for attention. And what also has been said...
NGUYEN: Wait a second, our attention? Why would she want any more attention? She already has a wedding with 600 people.
BROWN: One would think. But I actually think she ran away to get attention. I think she ran away to get the media attention. And I think she -- there's a lot more behavioral problems than we are hearing about.
NGUYEN: But what could she benefit from that media attention? I don't understand.
BROWN: Oh, well, it's exciting. The same thing Audrey Seiler did out in Wisconsin. It's exciting. She's disappeared and everybody's going to be thinking about her, looking for her. It's going to be all over the news. She knows this when she leaves. I don't believe for a minute that she wasn't aware of this.
She put her family through hell, she community through hell, she put her friends through hell, and she spent a fortune of the taxpayer's money that is being taking away from true victims of crime. She has committed a crime, but we're calling it a mistake. She has lied, but we're calling it a story. She should be ashamed, but we're calling it she's embarrassed.
NGUYEN: OK, but do you recognize the fact there are runaway brides out there? This happens often.
BROWN: Well, not to this extent and not for this long. Under those circumstances where, sure, people run away, and usually you know they've run away. She made no attempt to contact her family, to let them know that she wasn't dead, and that is a terribly cruel thing to do. She allowed her fiance, if he wasn't involved in any way, shape or form, she allowed him to become a murder suspect. That's a terrible thing to do.
I mean, she allowed every one of her friends to think she was dead. I mean, this is very narcissistic behavior. This is someone who says, I am more important than everybody else. Everything should be focused on me. Attention, attention, attention. And I think we're going to find out in the future -- now, this is a 33-year-old woman, this is not a 17-year-old child. This is a 33-year-old woman who is supposedly responsible. I think we're going to find out later on that she's had lots of behaviors exhibited in the past that show that she does like to get a lot of attention.
NGUYEN: But could it be possible that she did have wedding day jitters, she went off on this jog and just realized that it was too much for her to it handle, so she ran away? is that possible in your mind? because everyone that we have spoken with said she showed no hesitation before now. I don't think she showed hesitation before now. That's correct, she was planning something. I think she came up with a better idea. I could buy it if it was just temporary, but for that length of time, I don't believe anybody who cared about other people could put people through that kind of agony. I know that I certainly couldn't run away from a situation, just leave my family suffering, thinking I was dead for day after day after day. I just -- I do not buy that at all.
NGUYEN: But couldn't she have just gotten scared? Because all of this kind of spiraled out of control. It was on news and the searches were continuing, that she really didn't know how to speak up. Or even as the pastor just mentioned a little bit earlier, she was on a Greyhound bus and she may not even have had access to media reports until she got into Albuquerque and realized, oh my goodness, what has happened with all of this?
BROWN: She wasn't on Greyhound bus for five days straight. She was off of that bus someplace, staying someplace with access to media. I don't buy it. I think it's a very nice way of looking at it. I think that's the way we like to look at things, but I don't believe that a 33-year-old woman doesn't have enough brains to know what she's doing and how she's affecting people. So I consider what she's done a crime and I think the police should file charges and we should call it what it is.
And it is a sad situation for everybody, but I don't think we should minimize it. Because in the future, we're going to see this happen again. Just after Audrey Seiler it, she didn't really suffer any. She got more attention. This woman's going to get more attention. So in the future, we're going to see more money wasted, more people saying, hey, I'm not going to search for that missing person. She's probably another Audrey Seiler, oh, she's probably like that runaway bride down in Georgia.
I mean this is going to affect -- horribly impact investigations in the future and we ought to say, let's stop this bad behavior so we can do things properly and we can have our money spent well and have our time spent well and have our concern for real victims.
NGUYEN: Look, let me ask you this quickly. What does it say when she left her money, her I.D. and her keys at home? What does that tell you?
BROWN: That tells me there's some other -- well, she's got a ticket in her hands, didn't she? Now how did they do that?
NGUYEN: There are a lot of questions out there, but...
BROWN: Exactly.
NGUYEN: On the surface, it seems like...
BROWN: She purchased that ticket ahead of time.
NGUYEN: On the surface, it seems like it may not have been planned. BROWN: I heard she purchased the ticket ahead of time, and that makes me concerned. The fact that she was able to get a ticket means she had money with her. So she didn't just run away into the bushes, she had a plan, she had to stay someplace and she had to take yet another bus. She had money with her, so she did plan this. She didn't just run off jogging and run off into -- because, that isn't the truth.
And that's the problem. We need to face this truthfully, because it is going to affect future homicide investigations and the way we perceive victims. And I think that's a tragedy for them, more so than it is a tragedy for this young woman.
NGUYEN: All right. Criminal profiler Pat Brown. We thank you for your insight.
BROWN: My pleasure.
NGUYEN: And of course, we're going to have much more on this. And you know, this is going to be the talk for a few days.
HARRIS: Look, I got to take that in.
NGUYEN: I know.
HARRIS: That was very strong from Pat. I got to take that in.
NGUYEN: She had a lot to say, for sure.
HARRIS: We'll take a break and come back with more of CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Welcome back, everyone. Jennifer Wilbanks' pastor spoke to reporters a short while ago. He says the family understands she needs help. But Reverend Alan Jones says there's no anger, just relief she's alive.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JONES: The first question, obviously, is how's John Mason? John Mason is experiencing something right now that probably nobody in this country has experienced in such a great way, with the media attention and the things that have been brought forth. John is a man of faith, and as I've been saying all the way through.
And I want to quote something that John said to both families about an hour ago. John said everybody has a right to make a mistake. He said the bible calls that sin. And he said the bible also says that every time we sin, we crucify Christ anew and Christ forgives us, and that's what grace is all about. I have never met such a strong person in all my life. John has spoken with Jennifer. There's no hostility. Obviously, there's all kinds of emotions, and I can't speak for John, but he's an incredible man. I'd like to speak for the family . This human drama that has unfolded this week has been amazing. They have been running off of every emotion, from every tidbit of information that they've been given. Last night, hope was looking very, very strong and emotions were at all-time low. And this morning, they were give a tidbit of information, or we given a tidbit of information, and I know for myself, it's the highest adrenaline I've ever had. There were 150 people in this yard just having a party.
An hour or so later, we all found out that we'd been given the wrong information, and that Jennifer was a runaway bride. Sure, we were all disappointed, maybe a little embarrassed. But you know what? If you remember all of 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.
So beyond all the other emotions, there's a spirit of celebration that we have Jennifer. The churches, the community, have been incredible to support families through this time. Churches have come out to support them, even these guys that are with me right now, who are here just helping the family. And we'll continue to do that. We'll continue to encourage John.
We need to ask the country to continue praying for this family because there's a lot of pain. Nobody in this house had one idea of what had happened. Nobody. I've been asked many times, you've been counseling with them for three months. I counseled with them Sunday night, and I had no idea. I had no idea.
I don't know about future wedding plans. I can't speak for that. I will speak for John. He's probably not going to be talking to the media for a couple of days, since he's had no sleep. And John's inside now resting. But, again, thank you. Keep us in your prayers. Keep Jennifer if your prayers. Jennifer needs help. We know that. And we want to help the family, and we want to get her help.
You know, this is something that no one's experienced on this magnitude. Jennifer had no idea what was going on in the media. From what we understand, the buses that she was on, the bus station, that she was in, had no TVS, and probably had no clue how it had been blown out of proportion. But, again, thank you for your help, God bless you and have a great day.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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Aired April 30, 2005 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome back, everyone. I'm Tony Harris to CNN's coverage of the missing bride-to-be, found alive early this morning. This is a story obviously getting national coverage for days as police and family, friends and people searching for Jennifer Wilbanks feared the worst, but now are happy to know that she is alive.
I want to give you a quick update. We're expecting at any moment now to hear from the pastor who was set to marry Jennifer and John later this evening. When that press conference happens, we'll take you there live.
NGUYEN: And we've been on the air for hours now. And the story has taken so many dramatic twists and turns several times already this morning. Here is has we know so far: a missing bride-to-be is a runaway bride-to-be. A Georgia woman who vanished Tuesday evening surfaced today. Now, she is fine and perhaps a bit embarrassed. Jennifer Wilbanks turned up today in Albuquerque, New Mexico. At first, she told police she been kidnapped. Well, now she admits she simply got cold feet.
Wilbanks hopped on a Greyhound bus to Las Vegas Tuesday night and then got on another bus to New Mexico. She called her fiance in the middle of the night from a pay phone, telling him her tall tale. And a few hours later, Wilbanks admitted to police that she had made up the abduction story and she couldn't handle the pressure of a big wedding. Wilbanks was to be married tonight in a huge ceremony in Duluth, Georgia, so large it would have dwarfed the recent marriage of Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla.
HARRIS: Wow.
NGUYEN: 600 invitations had been mailed. The wedding party consisted of 28 attendants. Police say Wilbanks even changed her appearance, cutting her long, shoulder-length hair. But authorities don't plan to file any charges.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF RAY SCHULTZ, ALBUQUERQUE POLICE DEPT: At approximately 4:00 a.m. this morning, Miss Wilbanks informed agents and detectives she had not been abducted, as she had originally claimed. Agents and detectives learned that Miss Wilbanks had become scared and concerned about her pending marriage and decided that she needed some time alone.
Miss Wilbanks had traveled from the Georgia area to Las Vegas, Nevada, via bus. Earlier today, she traveled from Las Vegas back to the Albuquerque area, again via bus, arriving this evening. She remained in the Albuquerque area, traveling around the southeast area heights, until approximately 23:38 hours, when she called 911.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: And as we continue our coverage of this developing story, a couple of notes to bring to you. We're expecting any moment to hear from the pastor who was scheduled to marry John and Jennifer later this evening in Duluth, Georgia. When that press conference begins, we will take you to Duluth live.
But right now, let's go to John Mason's home in Duluth, Georgia, where the celebration certainly has turned to stunned disbelief this morning. CNN's Charles Molineaux is there for us live. And Charles, if you would, walk us through this rollercoaster of a day.
CHARLEX MOLINEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, and it has certainly been one, Tony. And now, of course, the weather providing a little dramatic punctuation to the situation. It's pouring rain outside of John Mason's home here in Duluth, Georgia. This has been the center of this drama throughout as it has taken its twists and turns.
Of course, John Mason was the one who originally reported that Jennifer was missing on Tuesday evening when she didn't come back from a jog. Well, that search became broader and broader over the course of the next three days, as police searched all over Duluth, trying to figure out where she might have gone. Search scenario five square miles, three times, over and over again, trying to get some clues to what might have happened to her.
There were clothes found, there was hair found. There was a lot of concern that something really awful of might have happened. Well, then, last night, about 1:45 in the morning, a call came in to John Mason from Jennifer, announcing that she was OK, that she didn't know where she was, that she had been kidnapped by two people in a van. A man and a woman, that they had wanted money. She told this to her father, she told this to her mother.
Well then at about 7:00 this morning, Eastern time, we got word from Albuquerque, where it turns out Jennifer was, that she had apparently made it up. The family now says that it seems that there was some issues with this huge wedding scheduled for today about which the family was unaware that Jennifer was feeling, and apparently concluded that, well, there was some problem, and that's when she took off. And what was in her mind, we can only begin to guess and perhaps we'll find out.
But an awful lot of questions flying around, in a situation that looked like one of unequivocable joy and relief that Jennifer was alive, has now turned into one of considerable equivocation. But the fact is that she is OK and that is something that her family is holding on to, but the situation's become a lot more solemn, even as there is the relief that she is OK and her parents prepare to head out to Albuquerque for a reunion with her. HARRIS: And Charles, it is going to be absolutely amazing to any number of people out in that area of Duluth, Sewanee, Preside (ph) County, the city of Cumming (ph), to find out that this is how this story has come to an end. Remember, as I know you do, that this was an extensive search. I mean, we're talking about people who, once they heard that Jennifer was missing, they just came from everywhere to volunteer to be a part of this search, somewhere close to 300 people. We're talking about a mix of volunteers, of law enforcement. There were canines, as I recall, bloodhounds.
MOLINEAUX: Yes, there...
HARRIS: Yes.
MOLINEAUX: Oh, Tony, the works. We are in Gwinnett County outside of Atlanta. Police of Gwinnett County. Next door is Hall County. Police in Hall County were searching. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation had hundreds of volunteers. It was a story that grabbed people by the guts, and they wanted to get involved. There is a sizable Hispanic community around here. People were getting involved, passing out fliers in Spanish asking if anybody had seen Jennifer. And keeping in mind, of course, that also these were two very prominent families that were going to be getting together in this wedding, this wedding that was going to be so big.
Now, within just the next couple of minutes, as you can see over on the front porch of the Mason home, we are hoping to get some more insights and certainly some ideas as to how the family is holding up from the assistant pastor, who was going to be guy to marry them.
Alan Jones, assistant pastor from the Peachtree Corners Baptist Church, he was the one who counseled them on their way to their wedding. He was the one who ended up counseling this family as they dealt with the fact that Jennifer had disappeared and something awful may have happened. And, well, now he's being called on to do some more counseling as the situation becomes a very tough and personal one for a couple and for two families.
HARRIS: And Charles, I try to think about this from a number of different perspectives and I'm thinking about John Mason this morning. And this is -- this is a guy who went from...
MOLINEAUX: Has been through the wringer.
HARRIS: He really has. Why don't you sum that up for us?
MOLINEAUX: Well, John, of course, was the one who originally reported Jennifer missing on Tuesday evening. They were planning this big wedding. It was going to be a colossal event. Then, of course, came the concern that Jennifer had disappeared. And as the hours ticked on and she didn't reappear, and police searched and didn't find anything, and -- questions began to emerge about him.
He took a lie detector test, commissioned by a private investigator to do that test, and there was talk about the Georgia Bureau of Investigation conducting a lie detector test on him, and there was back and forth between him and his attorneys and the GBI and the police, and suspicions began to float around him...
HARRIS: Charles, Charles, let me jump in for a second. The pastor is speaking.
MOLINEAUX: Very good. All right. This is Alan Jones.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
REV. ALAN JONES, ASSOC. PASTOR, PEACHTREE CORNERS BAPTIST CHURCH: canceled at Duluth First Methodist Church. And you guys could help get that message out. Also, just to introduce myself, I'm Alan Jones, and I'm an associate pastor at my church. I had a good relationship with John Mason, and I had the privilege of him asking me to do the wedding for he and Jennifer, so I formed a relationship with him during the past few months. Also, somehow earned the privilege and the trust of the family to minister to them and it's been quite an honor during this fiasco that we've been going through together for the past week.
The first question, obviously, is how's John Mason? John Mason is experiencing something right now that probably nobody in this country has experienced in such a great way, with the media attention and the things that have been brought forth. John is a man of faith, and as I've been saying all the way through.
And I want to quote something that John said to both families about an hour ago. John said everybody has a right to make a mistake. He said the bible calls that sin. And he said the bible also says that every time we sin, we crucify Christ anew and Christ forgives us, and that's what grace is all about. I have never met such a strong person in all my life. John has spoken with Jennifer. There's no hostility. Obviously, there's all kinds of emotions, and I can't speak for John, but he's an incredible man.
So beyond all the other emotions, there's a spirit of celebration that we have Jennifer. The churches, the community, have been incredible to support families through this time. Churches have come out to support them, even these guys that are with me right now, who are here just helping the family. And we'll continue to do that. We'll continue to encourage John.
We need to ask the country to continue praying for this family because there's a lot of pain. Nobody in this house had one idea of what had happened. Nobody. I've been asked many times, you've been counseling with them for three months. I counseled with them Sunday night, and I had no idea. I had no idea.
I don't know about future wedding plans. I can't speak for that. I will speak for John. He's probably not going to be talking to the media for a couple of days, since he's had no sleep. And John's inside now resting. But, again, thank you. Keep us in your prayers. Keep Jennifer if your prayers. Jennifer needs help. We know that. And we want to help the family, and we want to get her help.
You know, this is something that no one's experienced on this magnitude. Jennifer had no idea what was going on in the media. From what we understand, the buses that she was on, the bus station, that she was in, had no TVS, and probably had no clue how it had been blown out of proportion. But, again, thank you for your help, God bless you and have a great day.
QUESTION: Is there any hostility between the families at this point?
HARRIS: And there you have. The latest statement from the family, that from Reverend Alan Jones, the man who was prepared to wed, to perform the ceremony tonight for John and Jennifer. That, as he mentioned, won't be happening for obvious reasons.
She is in Albuquerque, New Mexico, actually awaiting her family that is supposed to board a plan at about 11:00 this morning and make its way to Albuquerque for that reunion. Reverend Jones saying that first and foremost, his thoughts are with both of these young people, but certainly with John Mason, who has been through what he's described as a real ordeal. And I think we can certainly understand that. This is a young man who has gone from his fiance missing and thinking that perhaps the worst was possible, to finding out that well, he was left before he even got to the altar to wed his fiance, Jennifer.
HARRIS: Let's bring Charles Molineaux back in here and let's talk through this a little bit more. He talked about -- John Mason said that this was a mistake that she had made. He talked about this human drama that this family has had to endure over the last three, going on four, days now, since her disappearance on Tuesday evening.
And Charles talked about the incredible swings of emotions through this morning, going from about 1:40 or 2:00 this morning -- whatever timeframe you want to put on it, early this morning, the small hours of the morning -- where there was 150 people, the pastor described, in that front yard, just cheering, applauding, hugging, kissing one another, to the reactions, the stunned reactions a short time later, once it was made clear that this story had taken another shocking turn of events.
MOLINEAUX: Oh, Tony, the silence was just devastating this morning. And so remarkable, just because it was such a dramatic contrast from what we saw earlier. When we heard the news that Jennifer was OK, that she been found, there were spontaneous outbursts applause, time and time again, as various news developments came along. We saw these screaming, joyous hugs going on all over the lawn.
Associate pastor had it right. There were, in fact, hundreds of people here in what was a party. They were just rejoicing over the fact that Jennifer was okay, and that this wedding, they thought, at the time, was going to go ahead.
Now, of course, the fact is that John Mason is far from the first guy to be abandoned on the eve of his wedding, but as Pastor Jones put it, very few people, maybe nobody, has had it happen to them quite in this way, in such incredible scrutiny. The entire country has been looking at this situation as it unfolds, concerned about Jennifer's disappearance on the eve of her wedding and now to find out that this was, in fact, actually what many of her relatives and friends were only praying for yesterday, as Pastor Jones pointed out, that she was, in fact, a runaway bride.
Keep in mind, this is something that they were hoping for when the alternative might very well have been something truly tragic happening to her. Well, fortunately and unfortunately, their prayers have been fulfilled and it turns out that she came down she came down with severe misgivings or issues about this wedding and took off. And this is something that this family's going to have to recover from.
As he put it, everybody makes a mistake, but he also reminded us that Christ forgives everybody, and this is going to be a time for an awful lot of forgiveness between these two families. Also something Pastor Jones did mention was the fact that apparently John has spoken to Jennifer on the phone, that they did, in fact, speak, that there was all kinds of emotion in their contact, that there was no hostility.
But obviously, there's going to be an awful lot for this couple to go through, and what happens from here on in is what would normally be a very quiet, interpersonal matter between two people, except, of course, that the way this has unfolded has been much more so, with hundreds of people involved, police, interstate, the FBI and, of course, the media watching this story anxiously, hoping that Jennifer would turn out to be okay. Now we know she is, but the story is a little more complicated than that -- Tony.
HARRIS: OK, you can understand that people are very happy at the news that she is alive and well today, but you wonder how folks will be thinking about this story on both sides of this family a couple of days from now. Charles, we appreciate it. Thank you.
NGUYEN: So if you're just joining us, a story that prompted a three-day nationwide search and an oh-my-gosh ending this morning. Georgia bride-to-be Jennifer Wilbanks turned up in New Mexico today. She initially told Albuquerque police she had been abducted Tuesday night. Well, now Wilbanks admits she had a case of cold feet. She was to be married tonight in a huge wedding in suburban Atlanta. Police say she couldn't handle the pressure. Police don't plan to file any criminal charges at this time, although that has not been made just official as of yet. So we will have to keep watch on that.
But here's the question today: what made Jennifer Wilbanks run away? What might have been going through her mind? Right now we want to turn to psychologist Pat Brown. She is in Minneapolis to kind of help us sort this all out. All right. Huge wedding. A lot of pressure. Is it enough to make somebody run away? Obviously, it is.
PAT BROWN, PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, let's start out with I'm not a psychologist, I'm a criminal profiler. So, let me straighten that out.
NGUYEN: OK.
BROWN: But I have to agree with the reverend that I'm going through a lot of emotions, as well, but they're not the same ones he's going through. I'm going through disgust and I'm really angry and I don't understand why there is so much minimization of what has happened here, what Jennifer has done. She did not simply run away. That is a minimization. What she did, she planned this, I think, for attention. And what also has been said...
NGUYEN: Wait a second, our attention? Why would she want any more attention? She already has a wedding with 600 people.
BROWN: One would think. But I actually think she ran away to get attention. I think she ran away to get the media attention. And I think she -- there's a lot more behavioral problems than we are hearing about.
NGUYEN: But what could she benefit from that media attention? I don't understand.
BROWN: Oh, well, it's exciting. The same thing Audrey Seiler did out in Wisconsin. It's exciting. She's disappeared and everybody's going to be thinking about her, looking for her. It's going to be all over the news. She knows this when she leaves. I don't believe for a minute that she wasn't aware of this.
She put her family through hell, she community through hell, she put her friends through hell, and she spent a fortune of the taxpayer's money that is being taking away from true victims of crime. She has committed a crime, but we're calling it a mistake. She has lied, but we're calling it a story. She should be ashamed, but we're calling it she's embarrassed.
NGUYEN: OK, but do you recognize the fact there are runaway brides out there? This happens often.
BROWN: Well, not to this extent and not for this long. Under those circumstances where, sure, people run away, and usually you know they've run away. She made no attempt to contact her family, to let them know that she wasn't dead, and that is a terribly cruel thing to do. She allowed her fiance, if he wasn't involved in any way, shape or form, she allowed him to become a murder suspect. That's a terrible thing to do.
I mean, she allowed every one of her friends to think she was dead. I mean, this is very narcissistic behavior. This is someone who says, I am more important than everybody else. Everything should be focused on me. Attention, attention, attention. And I think we're going to find out in the future -- now, this is a 33-year-old woman, this is not a 17-year-old child. This is a 33-year-old woman who is supposedly responsible. I think we're going to find out later on that she's had lots of behaviors exhibited in the past that show that she does like to get a lot of attention.
NGUYEN: But could it be possible that she did have wedding day jitters, she went off on this jog and just realized that it was too much for her to it handle, so she ran away? is that possible in your mind? because everyone that we have spoken with said she showed no hesitation before now. I don't think she showed hesitation before now. That's correct, she was planning something. I think she came up with a better idea. I could buy it if it was just temporary, but for that length of time, I don't believe anybody who cared about other people could put people through that kind of agony. I know that I certainly couldn't run away from a situation, just leave my family suffering, thinking I was dead for day after day after day. I just -- I do not buy that at all.
NGUYEN: But couldn't she have just gotten scared? Because all of this kind of spiraled out of control. It was on news and the searches were continuing, that she really didn't know how to speak up. Or even as the pastor just mentioned a little bit earlier, she was on a Greyhound bus and she may not even have had access to media reports until she got into Albuquerque and realized, oh my goodness, what has happened with all of this?
BROWN: She wasn't on Greyhound bus for five days straight. She was off of that bus someplace, staying someplace with access to media. I don't buy it. I think it's a very nice way of looking at it. I think that's the way we like to look at things, but I don't believe that a 33-year-old woman doesn't have enough brains to know what she's doing and how she's affecting people. So I consider what she's done a crime and I think the police should file charges and we should call it what it is.
And it is a sad situation for everybody, but I don't think we should minimize it. Because in the future, we're going to see this happen again. Just after Audrey Seiler it, she didn't really suffer any. She got more attention. This woman's going to get more attention. So in the future, we're going to see more money wasted, more people saying, hey, I'm not going to search for that missing person. She's probably another Audrey Seiler, oh, she's probably like that runaway bride down in Georgia.
I mean this is going to affect -- horribly impact investigations in the future and we ought to say, let's stop this bad behavior so we can do things properly and we can have our money spent well and have our time spent well and have our concern for real victims.
NGUYEN: Look, let me ask you this quickly. What does it say when she left her money, her I.D. and her keys at home? What does that tell you?
BROWN: That tells me there's some other -- well, she's got a ticket in her hands, didn't she? Now how did they do that?
NGUYEN: There are a lot of questions out there, but...
BROWN: Exactly.
NGUYEN: On the surface, it seems like...
BROWN: She purchased that ticket ahead of time.
NGUYEN: On the surface, it seems like it may not have been planned. BROWN: I heard she purchased the ticket ahead of time, and that makes me concerned. The fact that she was able to get a ticket means she had money with her. So she didn't just run away into the bushes, she had a plan, she had to stay someplace and she had to take yet another bus. She had money with her, so she did plan this. She didn't just run off jogging and run off into -- because, that isn't the truth.
And that's the problem. We need to face this truthfully, because it is going to affect future homicide investigations and the way we perceive victims. And I think that's a tragedy for them, more so than it is a tragedy for this young woman.
NGUYEN: All right. Criminal profiler Pat Brown. We thank you for your insight.
BROWN: My pleasure.
NGUYEN: And of course, we're going to have much more on this. And you know, this is going to be the talk for a few days.
HARRIS: Look, I got to take that in.
NGUYEN: I know.
HARRIS: That was very strong from Pat. I got to take that in.
NGUYEN: She had a lot to say, for sure.
HARRIS: We'll take a break and come back with more of CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Welcome back, everyone. Jennifer Wilbanks' pastor spoke to reporters a short while ago. He says the family understands she needs help. But Reverend Alan Jones says there's no anger, just relief she's alive.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JONES: The first question, obviously, is how's John Mason? John Mason is experiencing something right now that probably nobody in this country has experienced in such a great way, with the media attention and the things that have been brought forth. John is a man of faith, and as I've been saying all the way through.
And I want to quote something that John said to both families about an hour ago. John said everybody has a right to make a mistake. He said the bible calls that sin. And he said the bible also says that every time we sin, we crucify Christ anew and Christ forgives us, and that's what grace is all about. I have never met such a strong person in all my life. John has spoken with Jennifer. There's no hostility. Obviously, there's all kinds of emotions, and I can't speak for John, but he's an incredible man. I'd like to speak for the family . This human drama that has unfolded this week has been amazing. They have been running off of every emotion, from every tidbit of information that they've been given. Last night, hope was looking very, very strong and emotions were at all-time low. And this morning, they were give a tidbit of information, or we given a tidbit of information, and I know for myself, it's the highest adrenaline I've ever had. There were 150 people in this yard just having a party.
An hour or so later, we all found out that we'd been given the wrong information, and that Jennifer was a runaway bride. Sure, we were all disappointed, maybe a little embarrassed. But you know what? If you remember all of 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.
So beyond all the other emotions, there's a spirit of celebration that we have Jennifer. The churches, the community, have been incredible to support families through this time. Churches have come out to support them, even these guys that are with me right now, who are here just helping the family. And we'll continue to do that. We'll continue to encourage John.
We need to ask the country to continue praying for this family because there's a lot of pain. Nobody in this house had one idea of what had happened. Nobody. I've been asked many times, you've been counseling with them for three months. I counseled with them Sunday night, and I had no idea. I had no idea.
I don't know about future wedding plans. I can't speak for that. I will speak for John. He's probably not going to be talking to the media for a couple of days, since he's had no sleep. And John's inside now resting. But, again, thank you. Keep us in your prayers. Keep Jennifer if your prayers. Jennifer needs help. We know that. And we want to help the family, and we want to get her help.
You know, this is something that no one's experienced on this magnitude. Jennifer had no idea what was going on in the media. From what we understand, the buses that she was on, the bus station, that she was in, had no TVS, and probably had no clue how it had been blown out of proportion. But, again, thank you for your help, God bless you and have a great day.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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