www.justiceforchandra.com

[rd]

websleuths.com is covering with discussion at:

http://websleuths.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=69

rd

[laskipper]

The Wilbanks Disappearance... Past Tense
Posted by Steve Huff on April 30, 2005 04:29 AM (See all posts by Steve Huff)



The Encyclopedia of Kidnappings (Facts on File Crime Library)
Michael Newton
Book from Checkmark Books
Release date: 01 May, 2002




CNN is reporting that Jennifer Wilbanks has been found alive in New Mexico. Fox News is reporting that Jennifer was abducted by a man and a woman, taken to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she escaped from her abductors. The answer to one question is now available as well; Wilbanks' hair was cut by her abductors. There is a lot more to this story, more mystery to come, but the outcome for once is good news. And I for one apologize to John Mason for the suspicious speculation... however, I am in the majority now of those who owe Mason an "I'm sorry."

I've switched the status of my previous two Dark Side blog entries about the disappearance of Jennifer Wilbanks to "draft," taking them off-line, due to the developments I outlined above. It is unfair to Jennifer's fiance John Mason to allow speculation about his guilt or innocence to remain online if one has the ability to remove it. That is one great advantage of personal blogging, I guess.

Wilbanks is in the protection of the FBI in Albuquerque, and Fox News is interviewing John Mason on the phone on the television behind me.

As told by Mason, here is what happened; while running on Tuesday night Wilbanks was grabbed from behind by an hispanic male and a white female. She did not hear them because she was wearing her mp3 player, which is probably a pretty good lesson to anyone else who runs on city streets at twilight with mp3 players on their ears.

Her abductors apparently cut her hair at some point and then took her with them on the road. At the moment no one is saying what happened during that time, but what is apparent now is that the nationwide coverage of Jennifer Wilbanks' disappearance may have aided in her captors releasing her. Wilbanks' abductors may have been contemplating asking for ransom, but the story at the moment is they released in her Albuquerque, or may have "allowed" her to escape.

There is no news as to the disposition of the hispanic male and white female who allegedly abducted Jennifer. If they are still on the loose, they present a whole new mystery and danger to the public.

In a way, if the story of what happened to Jennifer is true, and there is no reason to believe it is not, then it is truly frightening because of the apparently random nature of the abduction.

This was what threw a lot of speculation towards Mason, aside from the curse of Scott Peterson [Google search] hanging over all future husbands or boyfriends whose wives or girlfriends go missing - the supposed 'safety' and quiet of suburban Duluth, in Gwinnett County, Georgia. Because much was made of this in the news, even by residents of Duluth, speculation tended to slide back to Mason. To defend those of us who were viewing the man with a jaundiced eye, as late as 1 p.m. Friday, April 29, Duluth police would make no statement that ruled Mason out as a suspect. Many of us were taking our cues from the behavior of law enforcement.

I must admit, that if, God forbid, the same thing were to happen in my family, one of my children or my wife go missing, I'm sure suspicion would light on this shaven-headed "true crime blogger" immediately. Hay would be made of my collection of Ann Rule books, books on profiling and serial killers. One can say of Jennifer's abduction that it could happen to anyone; one could also say of all the suspicion directed at John Mason that this too, could happen to anyone.

I had begun to wonder if Jennifer's vanishing might be stranger-related tonight, if only because she had a few things in common with Leslie Beebe [Dark Side of Planet Huff search], the 26-year-old Roswell, Georgia nurse who disappeared last December and was found dead 7 days after she vanished from the Derby Bar in Alpharetta. My dire imaginings were still probably off-base, as the alternate scenario to me went from a "Scott Peterson" paradigm to a "Ted Bundy" paradigm.

Now, for all we know, it was a bit of a Paul Bernardo/Karla Homolka [Google search] paradigm - the killer "Ken and Barbie" couple from Canada who abducted, raped and killed several young girls, including Homolka's younger sister, in the 90's. I'll be writing about Karla shortly - she is either already out or due to be out of prison very soon.

I will be very interested, just like everyone else I'm sure, to hear this bizarre story in detail.

For now, I have to say it's good to be able to write an entry like this. Yesterday I had a record for me with The Dark Side of Planet Huff, for any blog of mine ever, of 10,000+ pageloads in one day. When I first saw the statistic I was shocked and pleased, then I reflected on the subjects I cover in that blog, and realized that having so many readers in one fell swoop was a kind of pyrrhic victory; a good thing that comes at too great a cost.

For once I can say the vanished fiancee, the missing girl, is alive, and apparently okay, though surely traumatized. I can say about a suspect, I'm glad to know he's an innocent man, and though I doubt he'll ever read this or hear about it, I, for one, am sorry... he's a victim too, in a way. Of the cynicism of a world that has seen Lori Hacking [Google search] go missing while jogging, Laci Peterson vanish while walking the dog. It's easy to say one will not rush to judgement, but much harder to do, given the very deep darkness that sometimes seems so omnipresent in the world.

The title of this entry originally referred to a mildly troubling slip in tense John Mason made in an interview with Greta Van Susteren. As I was rewriting this piece I wondered if I should change it, then I realized it was still appropriate, in a way.

The Wilbanks Disappearance, as a potential southern gothic domestic tragedy, is now, in the most important way, past tense.
_________________
A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves
~
French philosopher Bertrand de Jouvenel (1903-1987)

[rd]

I am sick and tired of the "past tense" psychobabble analysis that this guy among many others practices. I have dealt with it ad nauseum throughout Chandra Levy's case.

Nearly everyone referred to Chandra in past tense in one quote or another, but those who were chosen to be attacked were the ones chosen to be psychobabble analyzed concerning it.

The public pressure concerning Jennifer's disappearance and the swift police action probably saved her life. The contrast with how the Washington DC police and US Attorney behaved becomes starker with each subsequent disappearance handled by competent police departments.

rd

[laskipper]

Breaking news.... story was a hoax


There was no abduction- Jennifer was stressed and needed to get away. With the wedding just days away, she couldn't handle the pressure. She cut her own hair, boarded a bus for Las Vegas then to New Mexico.

Just a gut feeling when I read the details on Websleuths- something didn't make sense about this case. Now it does.
_________________
A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves
~
French philosopher Bertrand de Jouvenel (1903-1987)

[blondie]

She has just admitted to being a runaway bride. She got scared and went to Las Vegas via Greyhound bus and then to New Mexico.

[peripeteia]

There was a similar case as this in Calgary, Dar Heatherington, a city counsellor in Alberta Province, claimed she had been abducted and had amnesia. She was visiting a boyfriend in Montana, and then went to Reno Nevada casinos. This woman had alleged being followed and harrassed by some sex maniac prior to her abduction.

The woman was arrested and charged with a number of charges and I believe she was found guilty.

Personally I think that people who drum up such notions should have to pay the cost for their search. There should be community time to pay back as well as mandatory psychological counselling.

Heavens only knows the resources of the police and law enforcement are scare enough without the waste of money by neurotic persons looking for their 15 minutes of fame or to manipulate a situation that they find themselves in which they wish to retreat.

I just saw a picture of this woman on television on Good Morning Canada,
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation show. She looks a little wide eye and flaky.
_________________
A vision sent me on the path of seeking justice for Chandra, nothing I've seen in print to date has diminished the vividness but only served to reaffirm the validity of this vision.

[laskipper]

Peri,

I noticed the same thing- the wide eyed look. One eye looks larger than the other and I recall reading that could mean a brain tumor. That could explain a few things.

There are several articles about family members finding a knife, shovel and other things in and near a vacant house that was on Jennifer's jogging route. I don't know the proximity of the items found as relates to the chunks of hair that they found but according to the article- it sounds like the same general area.

Also, numerous sweat pants were found. Again, I don't know if those relate to this case or not. Unlikely you would lose your pants when jogging. Sweatshirt maybe.

From the sound of the news coming out now, Jennifer had planned the
escape. Obviously not well planned out.

Did you read where her twin had stated that Jennifer would call on Saturday? Talk about a connection with twins!

It's doubtful that any charges will be lodged against her- the family is well connected. I would imagine the spin to downplay the entire matter has already begun.

ls
_________________
A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves
~
French philosopher Bertrand de Jouvenel (1903-1987)

[rd]

Thanks for the info. What I think is important is that a missing woman be treated as a serious matter without ruling out a runaway, in other words react and behave exactly as the Atlanta suburb Duluth police did.

They did a comprehensive search immediately, not using "cadets" told not to stray too far off the beaten paths lest they get their shoes dirty, they used civilians in the search, they presed for an immediate lie detector test from the intimate, they looked for other possible intimate relationships past and present, and they did it immediately.

This is precisely the way that the Washington DC police was supposed to behave, but instead they had a powerful member of Congress secretly telling them that the woman was an obsessed groupie he had refused to take calls from.

What would the Duluth police have done had they been told this? They shouldn't have done anything different. The Washington DC police should sit and watch how real police departments perform, police departments there to protect citizens' affairs, not congressmen affairs.

As to Jennifer, clearly there will be a lot of sympathetic consoling from family and friends but she will continue to not be able to deal with the pressure which she has magnified greatly now. With greater pressure there will be justified concern for her mental health and actions, which will only add to the pressure.

My guess is the best thing for her would be a small apartment in Atlanta where she can be anonymous for awhile.

rd

[maryland missing]

Just punishment for this woman would be to have to go to the next ground search for Tracey Testo. Until Motley Crue got involved in the Testo case, people didn't even know she was missing locally. Tracey's family was bumped from press coverage and as soon as "Jennifer" happened...

Throw the book at her...
_________________
Maryland's Missing persons
www.marylandmissing.com

[rd]

Good idea, mm. A selfish act like that just undermined the work done to try to find real missing women. Let's hope something comes of the search tomoorow for Tracey.

The Duluth searchers found a clump of Jennifer Wilbank's cut hair. I commend those searchers for the thorough job they did. I hope something positive is found in the search for Tracey tomorrow, but with talk of the landfill, I fear it sounds more like the search for Lori Hacking's remains.

rd

[maryland missing]

Nothing found. Abandoned landfill.
_________________
Maryland's Missing persons
www.marylandmissing.com

[propria]

>>> Personally I think that people who drum up such notions should have to pay the cost for their search. There should be community time to pay back as well as mandatory psychological counselling. <<<


i think that is the ideal way to achieve justice in this case ... i would only add that this woman also needs to offer an on camera apology to all the people who put their hearts into searching and/or praying for her, along with personal off camera apologies to every police officer who reportedly missed the funeral of a fellow officer because they were out searching for her.

i, too, had noticed jennifer's 'deer in the headlights' facial expression and thought when i first saw her that she sure looked a lot like the traditional southern belle facing a wedding that was expected to be the most perfectly scripted moment of her life. i grew up in the deep south, and i know how overbearing the pressure can be to live up to the expectations of pretty much everybody in her world by being the perfect bride starring in the perfect wedding to make the perfect parents perfectly proud of her, so my heart does go out to her.

acting out a life script that has been written for you by everyone except yourself can be a profoundly scary way to live your life, and i can tell you from first hand experience that just getting the hey away from it all is not an uncommon thought for many southern belles about to be married. in other words, i can see a lot of reasons why jennifer might want to get outta dodge, at least for a while ... after all, there are ways to do that without precipitating an international crisis of some variety or other.

i do not, however, see any excuse whatsoever for a 32 year old woman to put her loved ones [not to mention caring strangers all over north america and Who knows where else] through an ordeal like she has. if she really is mentally/emotionally unstable enough to not understand how wrongful her actions were, someone among her family and friends must certainly have known of her vulnerabilities under pressure, and they should have stopped the hoopla right up front when she first disappeared.

sadly, this whole family has become the poster children for the expression 'the punishment resides within the crime' ... i think it's safe to say at this point that the public humiliation they have all experienced is at least equal to jennifer's public deception. i still think it's necessary to reimburse the costs expended in searching for her, but i don't think it's necessary to throw jennifer in jail ... trust me, in the deep south the most terrible punishment of all is public embarrassment, and jennifer will live with that for the rest of her life in georgia, or anywhere else below the mason-dixon line, for that matter.


nanci
_________________
the Truth has a name, and there is power in that Name!