More anger than joy in missing bride’s Georgia hometown

By KRISTEN WYATTAssociated Press Writer

Albuquerque Avation Police keep members of the media back as Albuquerque Police Department Public Information Officer Trish Ahrensfield escorts Jennifer Wilbanks, covered, to a waiting flight, Saturday, in Albuquerque, N.M. Wilbanks, 32, a missing Georgia bride-to-be turned up on a seedy stretch of Route 66 and told authorities Saturday she’d been abducted, then copped to the truth, that she fled the pressure of her looming wedding. (AP Photo/Albuquerque Journal, Jim Thompson)

DULUTH, Ga. — The hunt for Jennifer Wilbanks consumed this tight-knit town when she went missing four days before her wedding.

Despite a safe return Saturday welcomed by family and close friends, some residents of this Atlanta suburb feel betrayed by what turned out to be an elaborate hoax. Volunteers searched woods and alleys, crawled in sewage drains and stayed up late looking for the 32-year-old local woman who was picked up late Friday by police after a cross-country bus trip that took her through Las Vegas, Nev., to Albuquerque, N.M. She initially told authorities that she had been abducted while jogging, but eventually admitted her kidnapping story was fabricated and she had run away because she had cold feet.

When Duluth residents learned the truth, they thanked God Wilbanks was safe — then shook their heads at her act. ‘‘I’m glad that she’s alive and OK, but it was a dirty trick,’’ said Louise McCoy, waiting in line at the Duluth post office Saturday — the same day Wilbanks was supposed to be married in a lavish ceremony that included 14 bridesmaids and 14 groomsmen. Police said there would be no criminal charges, but Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter said he still had some questions. ‘‘A tremendous amount of law enforcement resources was used in what turned out to be a hoax,’’ Porter told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for Sunday’s editions.

More than 100 officers led a search that involved several hundred volunteers, including many wedding guests and members of the bridal party. Porter said based on the information he had received, falsely reporting a crime is the only charge that would fit Wilbanks’ case. The misdemeanor carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

‘‘It is premature to talk about criminal charges,’’ Porter said. ‘‘But if we learn that this was a premeditated act, that would push me closer to pressing charges.’’