Ron Ackerman said this in post #15 : Nah a lot depends on if they believe her and if the DA decides there is enough there to charge her. My guess is that they didn't believe her story, that's why they continue to question her until 4am.
It wasnt that they didnt believe her at first, because they actually did take it seriously, but the more she told them, the more holes they kept finding in her story...it wasnt until later that they figured out she was lying (according to the reports, that is).
Of course thats just my opinion....I could be wrong. (Dennis Miller)
"You might be the toughest little whacker. . .but in my world, you're about as worrisome as a cloudy day." (Dutch Dooley)
Well the facts are that they didn't charge her, and they may not charge her in Georgia either. And believe me if they believe that they have a case, they will.
This is similar to standing up in a crowded theatre and screaming "FIRE" when there is none. It is a gray zone for criminal charges, but not for seeking damages. She knew for a few days that she was wasting the time and energy of many. She had adequate time and opportunity to put an end to the search. When she finally did, she made false statements to the authorities, further wasting their time. If you think they can't charge her (or at least fine her), go ahead and make some false-alarm calls to your local police or fire fighters and see what happens. In fact, I think the publicity this received has forced them to do something punitive. She gained national visibility. They don't want the nation to get the message that this sort of shenanigan will be tolerated.
Here in America we are descended in blood and in spirit from revolutionists and rebels - men and women who dare to dissent from accepted doctrine. As their heirs, may we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
No it's not the same, but it may be a gray zone. One county DA is considering pressing charges but he isn't sure that he can just yet.
I can imagine what she was going through. My daughter got married this year. She almost went ballistic and she only had about 200 people at hers. They were going to have a simple wedding with a few guests and ended up with a big wedding with a lot of guests thanks to HIS mother. It was very nice, my daughter was calm until things started going wrong just days before the wedding. However everything smoothed out and turned out very well.
Again it's not illegal for this lady to skip town. I think it's wrong to charge her for anything. It wasn't her idea to mount a huge search. Sure a simple call to a relative should have been in order saying I'm OK!
Yes it's illegal to lie to authorities. But lying is one thing and them believing the lie is another. Which is probably why NM authorities decided not to charge her. It is not illegal for her to lie to her family and friends. And at this point the only person in Georgia in Authority in Georgia she lied to was in a PERSONAL phone call to the Police Chief. Was this a call to a friend or to the Authroities. How many people know the phone number of their Police Chief???
Of course charging her is one thing, convicting her is another.
A local prosecutor said Monday he will conduct a thorough investigation, which could take weeks, before deciding whether to charge Wilbanks for falsely claiming she had been kidnapped. District Attorney Danny Porter said he has not yet interviewed Wilbanks.
He said Wilbanks could face a misdemeanor charge of false report of a crime or a felony charge of false statements. The misdemeanor carries a penalty of up to a year in jail; five years in prison is the maximum sentence for the felony.
"I've got to know all the facts before I know the appropriate charges," Porter said. "Now I've got to gather all the information from Duluth and Albuquerque and the FBI."
Porter said earlier Monday that authorities have evidence that Wilbanks' disappearance "was not just a spur-of-the-moment thing." He noted she had cut her hair and said there was evidence she bought the bus ticket ahead of time and secretly set some cash aside.
Maybe she has bipolar disorder and had a manic episode.
This is a frequent action during mania....trekking across the country.
She was obviously not in a good frame of mind.
I am just surprised that this kind of thing got national media attention. This kind of thing happens alot often all the time all over.
I am more and more surprised about what gets on the national news. Must be a slow month.
HECK said this in post #22 : Bottom line, the police department involved is out $40K - $60K. Why should the taxpayers get stuck with the bill? She should pay twice as much.
And I respect the dude wanting to stay with her, but I would kick her to the curb quicker than a hiccup.
-HECK!
No way, no how, would I ever want to still marry this gal if I were him...he must be as looney as she is!
Ummm...BTW...is it a good thing to be on your quote of the week? Im not sure if I should be excited or just totally depressed.
Of course thats just my opinion....I could be wrong. (Dennis Miller)
"You might be the toughest little whacker. . .but in my world, you're about as worrisome as a cloudy day." (Dutch Dooley)
She should pay NOTHING. It's TOTALLY LEGAL for a 32 year old woman to get on a bus WITHOUT TELLING ANYBODY and travel anwhere, for as long as she wants. It's the police and the family who overeacted and went nuts, buying billboards before she had been missing 3 days. You can argue she should have told somebody...but it's not REQUIRED BY ANY LAW.
"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."— George Bush Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2004
05-01-2005 10:26 PM
Im totally psyched! 
