Runaway Bride

A case of extreme cold feet?

Instead of facing her wedding with about 600 guests present, Jennifer instead took off for New Mexico leaving her parents, fiance and practically the whole US worrying that she had been abducted and harmed.

Imagine the expense. Now they're saying she may have purchased the bus ticket in advance. The media is going to make a mess out of this as usual.

Comments

  • 25 Comments sorted by Votes Date Added
  • She already made the mess, don't blame the media. I think she should have to pay for the police expense. This morning they said the police may file charges, I don't think she deserves jail time but a HUGE fine would seem to be in order.
  • I agree - no jail time, but she must reimburse for some or all of the public expenses. And counseling.
  • Only in Georgia! As a Georgian, this is embarrassing, let alone expensive. What's really scarry is that she is supposedly a nurse. Given here mental imbalance, how much were her patients at risk??

    On the other hand, she's an adult, she got on a bus and went to Vegas. What crime did she commit until she falsely reported she had been abducted, which was at the very end of the scenario. Stupid, yes; criminal, don't think so! The expenses by law enforcement and her community occurred before any crime was committed.
  • [font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 05-02-05 AT 10:22AM (CST)[/font][br][br]Not only should she have to reimburse every local, state, and federal agency that supported the "search", but any volunteers that gave their time, not to mention her family who probably put out in advance on a wedding that didn't happen. Jail is extreme since she obviously has issues, but community service would be acceptable.
  • Ladies, chill out.

    This woman now realizes that she has made a complete fool of herself. Nothing you can say or do will make her feel any worse.
  • My theory is that she has suffered enough and the basis for her action was the fact that her family (the socialites they are) let the impending wedding take on a life of its own and probably her mother and a few others got off into managing that event and all that surrounded it and the poor girl simply got overwhelmed and reacted to it. Some people won't be satisfied unless she commits suicide, which is very possibly what she will be forced to consider if this damned thing doesn't die down. But, Fox won't let it and CNN won't let it.
  • Don-be optimistic-we finally spent a few days not hearing about Michael Jackson.
  • Well, this 'would be bride' is admittedly a bit easier on the eye that Michael's sho' nuff bride with the NFL shoulder pads on.
  • She'll make enough from the book, the movie, and the talk show appearances to make a small fortune.
  • [font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 05-02-05 AT 02:21PM (CST)[/font][br][br][font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 05-02-05 AT 02:20 PM (CST)[/font]

    I don't think that anyone wants anything more than for her to face consequences for her actions. She's 32 years old, not some green 20 something. She should have, and could have acted more maturely and responsibly than to run away and disrupt not only her family, but her community, her state, and the entire nation for that matter. Hopefully she's humiliated and feels remorseful, but even if she is that should not absolve here from the consequences of her actions, which include a burden on taxpayer dollars. She should be required to repay it. If she can blow off an extravagent, high $$$$ wedding, she can afford to repay the civil servant organizations that spent time and money trying to find her; which they wouldn't have had to do had she acted responsibly.
  • I may be mistaken, but I beleive calling 911 to report an abduction that never happened is a crime. She most certainly should be charged and spend about 30 days in jail contemplating her extremely poor judgement and the subsequent turmoil, heartache and expense she caused. For a bunch of HR folks to overlook the fact that civilized human beings don't conjure up ridiculous fabrications and decietful actions to avoid having to deal reality amazes me. Would Don feel that if one of his employees engaged in similar behaivior in the workplace that he should just pull out some tissue to wipe the tears from the troulbled employee who just has too much stress to deal with, much of it caused by an overbearing mother-in-law. You all surprise me. She deserves severe repurcussions for her unconcionable behavior. Hey, I got an idea; if she didn't want to get married, how 'bout sitting down with her fiance and talking about that minor little detail. No, you're right, instead, buy a bus ticket, fake an abduction, let your hometown deploy all their police resources to looking for you, then call up your fiance and say two hispanics kidnapped you. Yeah, much better plan.
  • Boy, talk about running something into the ground! We couldn't turn on TV/Radio here in Atlanta this weekend without hearing about this. Naturally, we were glad to hear she was "found unharmed". However, I was mortified that this was the lead news on the Today Show this morning. This either shows either what a gossip tabloid this has gotten to be or what the publics values and interests have dropped to, or maybe both. You must admit, that if the news media hadn't picked this up from the start (with the request of family and law enforcements help) who would have cared. This is an obiviouly mixed up young lady whose fiance must be either a fool or a saint. (I even heard today that this wasn't the first time she had done this... my be gossip so don't repeat it.) She has suffered humiliation and needs help for "problems", whatever they may be. However, I do think that she (not Mother and Daddy) should be made to pay for the police additional salary and overtime (which from this small suburb may be significant). If something isn't done, this is going to become the weekly occurrence and we will get to the point of not knowing when to be concerned and when not to be. I am sure that she will be able to pay it out of the TV, movie and book revenues. (By the way, I heard she was a medical assist, not a nurse.) I really liked the Gwinette Co. District Attorneys come back to one of the news folks, when they strated pressing him about when he would make decisions on whether to charge her. He said that if he could get to his office he might be able to work on it. (Apparently the news hounds have made it where he can't step out of the door to his home.) I hope I hear something else worth while when I get home tonight. Let them get on with their life.
    E Wart
  • To E-Wart:

    I agree with you that this is embarrassing for our state and that our news media in general has sunk to the tabloid level, to include "The Today Show" as a good example.

    The intent of my original post was to present the situation that you (E-Wart) get on a bus one day to go to Vegas and have some fun without telling anyone. Your family thinks you're missing, contacts the local authorities, and starts a very expensive search for you. When you find out about the search and all the trouble you caused by being inconsiderate and not telling your family where you were going you call them and tell them that you're OK and to knock off the search. Up to this point you really haven't done anything criminal and can't really be legally charged for the expenses involved in the search which you didn't ask for.

    The 911 call with a false report was her first criminal action (a misdemeaner in GA). I fully agree; she should be fully prosecuted on that charge either in NM or GA or both. Being LEGALLY held accountable for the search expenses, which occurred before any criminal action and because people were worried, doesn't hold water. On the other hand, a normal person (which probably doesn't apply in this case) would probably feel guilty over all the problems and expense their inconsideration caused and very well might reimburse various people and agencies for their time and trouble. Based on the size of the wedding, either her family or the groom's family has some dough. As a face-saving gesture (if that's possible) the family with the money might offer to pay for the formal expenses and maybe do something for all the volunteers.

    The real bad/sad part of this story is that the next time someone disappears for real, you're going to have many people remember this incident and not volunteer to help in a truly needed search.
  • I totally agree with your last statement. That is why I believe she MUST do some type of restitution to the city, both financially and public apology and maybe community service. I heard last night that the MI co-ed who pulled a similar stunt had to repay the $6,000 in search bills. (This one was more like $60,000)
    E Wart

    PS No one has mentioned this in the news. Jon Mason said that when he first saw her he GAVE HER HER ENGAGEMENT RING BACK. If she truly ran away with out anyone knowning... why did he have her ring?
  • Who gives a crap why he gave her the ring back. Is this the Jerry Springer show or Oprah?

    Sunday morning, two teenagers, a boy and a girl, in Vicksburg, 40 miles to my West, were involved in a rear end collision somewhere north of Mississippi. Turns out the told the cops the couple in the front seat had abducted them at a Mississippi River Overlook, took them to the motel across the street (?) and made them get them in the car with them and took them across state lines. No motives stated. Sheriff on the news saying what fine, trustworthy kids these are and their parents got alarmed when they didn't show up at Sunday School. Hmmmm? My doubting Thomas gene kicked in and ain't left yet.
  • My take on this is that she clearly needs to be evaluated by the medical health community. If it is determined that she is rational and was so at the time of all of this then by all means proscecute and make restitution. If not then confining her to a mental health facility to get the help she needs should not be an option. Until an evaluation is made we are just running around in circles. If she IS mentally ill...end of discussion and send her best wishes/get well cards to her mental health facility.
  • So, she's either guilty of a crime or mentally ill?

    She is 37. A bit old for a first time bride. Something tells me she grew up never able to please her parents, thus nobody met their expectations. She wore braces at 36. Something else there. Probably trying to please her mother with that too. This huge shindig was the family's idea, not her's. She balked. She made, according to most, a poor decision and ran off in anxiety. Then she realized all the commotion being stirred up in Georgia and the constancy of that on Fox and CNN and fear set in. Often people behave oddly when they are afraid. Fabricating a lie is a natural reaction to the extreme fear of pending humiliation. Pending or present humiliation is an extremely tough thing to endure. She lied. She didn't think it through and she lied. Fear often causes irrational thought processes. You don't think a process through and you don't consider consequences when you are irrational. I don't think this equals criminal intent or mental illness. She just needs three days in New Orleans and a good backrub.
  • Yikes! I'm having second thoughts about the single most important decision I'm gonna make, that may impact on the rest of my life, and I decide I need a few days by myself to sort out MY OWN thoughts and feelings,away from all of the free advice being handed out by parents, friends etc , and suddenly I'm a criminal, or worse yet, a mentally ill criminal? Granted, phoning in a phony abduction report may be a crime for which she may be liable. But who among us has not contemplated, hell, thought damn hard about taking off and not telling anyone where or why?And just because we may not have acted on it and she did, who is the nut case? The taking off may have been the smartest thing she could do, telling someone, anyone, might have been a disaster - everyone would have tried to talk her out of it. I share the concern that this may impact adversely on future reportsof missing folks. But unmtil she made that false report, I don't think she did anything legally, or morally wrong, or even acted goofy. Unfortunately, Greyhound no longer services my fair corner of the globe, or I might take a liberating hike myself - except, I'm too mentally ill to see the theraputic value of such an adventure, and I'll stay here die of stress and guilt!
  • "But who among >us has not contemplated, hell, thought damn hard about taking off and not telling anyone where or why? And just because we may not have acted on it and she did, who is the nut case?"

    "I might take a liberating hike
    myself - except, I'm too mentally ill to see the
    theraputic value of such an adventure, and I'll
    stay here die of stress and guilt!"


    Who among us? Count me in. I've thought of it. I've even thought I'm crazy if I DON'T. What makes it 'nuts' or 'not nuts' is that thing called reality. We (supposedly rational people) weigh out who will be affected, who will be hurt, and what are the long-term consequences. Then we don't do it. Of course we see the theraputic value but do not chose 'self.' We'll come back from the adventure and die of stress and guilt anyway, unless we know how to cut it off.

    The wedding plans did not erupt overnight. She's had plenty of time to contemplate her decision. She may have felt pressure and may have been overwhelmed, but she has to 'grow up.'


  • Fear and confusion can do strange things to a once lucid person. I bet she never ever thought that this trip she took would evolve into something so huge. All she was probably thinking is getting far away.

    The sad part is that she will never, ever be the same. Her humiliation and regrets will be with her forever. Let's stop kicking the woman.
  • She sure messed up and yes she should pay.

    Here's a question for everyone...not even all the major media people got this right. What city and state was she in when she finally called 911?
  • [font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 05-03-05 AT 03:09PM (CST)[/font][br][br]Some safe part of some New Mexico town, right? The police there said she had just been walking around town for several hours in the area of the bus station. If it was close to Roswell I would have suspected alien intervention to rescue her.

    "Then we don't do it. Of course we see the theraputic value but do not chose 'self.' We'll come back from the adventure and die of stress and guilt anyway, unless we know how to cut it off."

    Sam is quoted directly above. That's exactly the point....that we do not all have the ability to think through and choose appropriate paths at the moment or make unselfish decisions, always. Consider for a moment all the people who have committed suicide, and we all know at least one, don't we? There were some mighty fine, strong, smart, loving, valuable, warm, friendly, intelligent, resourceful folks in that group. But, not a damned one of them had the ability at that moment to consider all of the people who would be impacted and to reason through it and come out of it with the appropriately altruistic decision which would have benefitted the most people. If any of them had, they would likely still be with us. I'm just thankful the girl didn't choose that path. It was likely the only other one available to her, in her mind, at that moment.

  • So does that mean she should not be held accountable for her actions? Do we just say, "oh, poor dear, you're under so much stress, we can overlook the fact that you committed a crime" I'm sure she was confused, and I'm sure she felt trapped; but she chose a course of action that was, at worst criminal, and at best, somewhat psychotic. To infer we should just turn our heads and "leave her alone" is ludicrous. Should we do the same for folks that commit crimes of passion (i.e. manslaughter)? Or on a much lesser scale, what if employees exhibit extreme lack of judgement that causes the company to expend money, time and effort, only to discover the employee was under duress? Would you let them slide and send the signal to the rest of your workforce that as long as you are experiencing stress, you won't be held accountable for stupid behavior. To do so would cause corporate anarchy.
  • You are the one inferring. I posted and you reached your own inference as to what I meant. I am not privy to what she has had to say to the police at home or whether she has had discussions with the pastor or a counselor or a psychologist. I don't know those things so I can't really say she does or doesn't need counseling or whether she should face the media and pick up trash for 900 hours or pay the police department. The only crime committed was when she dialed 911 in New Mexico and they are not pressing charges. No crime, that we know of, as Shadowfax pointed out, was committed. I do know that none of us can measure her against what WE individually would have done or what WE would hope our own would do. And the last time I noticed, certain crimes of passion are virtually forgiven; for example, shooting a man caught with your wife in a downstroke. Killing a person under extreme cases of duress or mistreatment. I have no solution for her judgement since I can't really judge her because I have not heard her. I think actually that the 14 bridesmaids have a lot of the women on this site stirred up and that's interesting in itself.
  • I can understand her running away if she was afraid to back out and didn't know how to tell everyone. But if she bought a bus ticket a week in advance, she knew what she was doing and had plenty of time to plan and act. She knew family and friends would be worried about her. She knew! Even if she has pushy forceful parents, she could have left a note. Once it hit the news she could have phoned anyone, even the local police station, and told them she was safe.

    It's also possible she decided to just do something daring and hide out for a few days never dreaming that they would call the police. Perhaps she thought she would make it back in town before the actual day, but everything blew up in her face. But, how can you alarm your family that way and not have a clue that you were going to do so?

    She behaved irresponsibly and selfishly. The least she could do is personally make dinner for all those people who took the time to go out looking for her. She could also give a hefty donation to her town to help cover the costs. I don't think jail time is a good idea though. We have enough idiots in the system already.

    One other thing that is bugging me about this has to do with her fiance. In every interview I saw with him before they found her (and there weren't very many) he was always smiling. I kept wondering if he knew something and wasn't telling. Now I wonder if he knew and just set her up. Very cynical of me isn't it?
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