What Now?

So missing Bride to be, Jennifer Wilbanks, has turned up not missing. For her friends, family, and fiancé John Mason, they all must be wondering, “what now?”

Last week Wilbanks lied to her fiancé saying she was going for a jog. In fact, she was leaving with one of the biggest cases of cold feet. She then cut her hair, must have had to ignore the media covering the case, and eventually lied to police, saying she was kidnapped. In the end she left to avoid her lavish wedding that was supposed to take place this last Saturday.

Wasn’t there one friend or close family member that she could have turned to? How about her fiancé? I mean, this is supposed to be the person you want to spend the rest of your life with. She claims the wedding will go forward, I say, hold on to your receipts.

John Mason has a tough call to make. No one would blame him if he cuts his losses and leaves her. It takes a pretty strange person to plan an exit like that. He must be relieved, angry, and embarrassed. But he’s the least of Jennifer’s troubles.

Local prosecutors are looking into whether or not they will file charges against the “bride to be”. I say charge her. Law enforcement takes cases like this very seriously. DNA labs were checking her hair against the clump found while searching for her. And it’s estimated that the whole search has cost local tax payers some $100,000. She should pay that back.


For once it’s nice to see a missing person story that actually comes home alive. But there are consequences for actions. With all of the different forms of communication at our disposal, there is no excuse for freaking out and running away.

Her friends and family will never forget how it felt when they heard she was missing. And she shouldn’t forget to act like an adult.