Runaway bride still welcome in fiance's family
'He's committed to her,' says prospective father-in-law
 |  Claude Mason says his son thinks "there will be a wedding." |
| |
|  VIDEO |
 So who exactly is Jennifer Wilbanks?
 The district attorney is considering charges in the case.
 CNN's Paula Zahn looks at the costs of the search.
|
|
DULUTH, Georgia (CNN) -- The father of Jennifer Wilbanks' fiance said Tuesday he would still welcome the runaway bride into his family if his son "is still in love with her and still wants to marry her."
Claude Mason said his son John insists he will still marry Wilbanks, but no date has been set.
"He's committed to her," Mason said. "As it stands now, he thinks there will be a wedding."
John Mason and Wilbanks, a 32-year-old medical assistant from the Atlanta suburb of Duluth, had been scheduled to get married last Saturday in front of 600 guests and 28 attendants. She disappeared last Tuesday evening, prompting a massive, three-day search.
Late Friday, she called Mason from a pay phone in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and said two people had abducted her, then retracted her story during questioning by the FBI and police. Albuquerque police said they will not file charges.
Asked if he expected Wilbanks to apologize to the families and the people involved in the search, Claude Mason said, "I hope so. I hope that comes very soon."
Whether authorities would accept an apology is another matter, and Wilbanks may face charges in Georgia.
Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter said he is considering criminal charges.
"I think I'm going to have to wait till all the reports are in," he said. "The real tricky part is I want to look over all the facts to try and determine what her state of mind was so I can select the appropriate charge."
The city of Duluth may also take civil action to recoup about $40,000 to $60,000 from Wilbanks for costs incurred in her hometown's search for her, Police Chief Randy Belcher said at a Monday evening news briefing.
Wilbanks could face a charge of making a false police report -- a misdemeanor punishable by up to 12 months in jail -- or making false statements to authorities -- a felony that carries a maximum of five years imprisonment.
"I guess the thing that really doesn't make sense to me is this thing that she said, 'I really didn't think anyone would look for me, that the police would look for me,'" Porter said. "It just flies in the face of common sense."
Agent: Wilbanks 'somewhat remorseful'
Authorities said Wilbanks had yet to make a full apology.
"She was somewhat remorseful for what she had done. She didn't come right out and apologize," said Carter Brank, an assistant special agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, after meeting with Wilbanks on Monday. "She didn't feel like she really had done anything wrong, but she did -- in her way -- make somewhat of an apology."
Claude Mason, a municipal court judge in Norcross, Georgia, said he hadn't thought through the idea of punishment for Wilbanks except that he "definitely" didn't think she should serve jail time.
"Mr. Porter is just doing the job he was elected to do," Mason said. "I don't have any problems with that."
Mason said he hasn't spoken with Wilbanks since her return to Georgia late Saturday, adding that "in my discussions with John" it appeared that "all the stuff leading up to" the wedding "got to her."
Duluth police chief Randy Belcher said he spoke to Wilbanks when she made her call from New Mexico.
He said he "clearly identified" himself to Wilbanks as the chief of police.
"At this point, she did violate Georgia law by advising me of this situation -- that she was kidnapped," he said.
Wilbanks's attorney, Edward L. Hartness, said neither he nor his client had any comment. She "needs time to heal with her family and time to heal with her fiance," Hartness said.
Meanwhile, John Mason, 32, appeared to be sticking by his fiancee, telling a CNN staffer his "only concern now is to get Jennifer well."
According to The Associated Press, Mason told a Fox TV interviewer he had given Wilbanks back the engagement ring she left at the house before she disappeared for four days.
"My commitment before God to her was the day I bought that ring and put it on her finger, and I'm not backing down from that," Mason told Fox.
Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
