Runaway Bride Jennifer Wilbanks

Metro Atlanta

Runaway Bride Jennifer Wilbanks

The man who was once engaged to the runaway bride has gotten married — to another woman. John Mason, 35, married Shelley Martin, 34, in a quiet ceremony Saturday at his parents' home in Duluth, his father, Claude Mason, told People magazine for a story posted Tuesday on its Web site.

How well do you recall Jennifer Wilbanks a.k.a. 'Runaway Bride'? She vanished in April 2005, four days before her wedding.

The wedding was to include 14 bridesmaids, 14 groomsmen and 600 guests.

It turned out that Wilbanks had fled to New Mexico. Many in the wedding party and guests joined authorities in a search.

Needless to say, her family was sad, thinking something bad might have happened to their beloved girl. Mike Satterfield, Wilbanks' uncle, was one of them.

Wilbanks, a 1991 North Hall High School graduate, met John Mason through her aunt who knew of their mutual love of marathon running. The couple had been dating about a year, family members said.

Duluth's 60- officer force participated at various times in the search, which lasted more than two days and included a couple of hundred volunteers. In this photo, groom John Mason is shown with his one-time in-laws.

Wilbanks spun an elaborate story of being kidnapped by a Hispanic man and an Anglo woman and being sexually assaulted. In this photo, members of Mason's family are shown.

But within hours, she admitted to the FBI that her story was fabricated. In this photo, a group of her friends and family are shown praying dearly for her safe return.

Wilbanks later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge, lying to police. She was placed on two years' probation and served a community service sentence in Gwinnett. She also said at that time she was admitting herself to an inpatient institution for therapy. This is the photo of Alan Jones, the Baptist minister who had planned to marry Mason and Wilbanks.

The city of Duluth estimates that it spent more than $43,000 in overtime costs during its police department's fruitless search for Wilbanks. In this photo, Gwinnett Co. Sheriff deputy Dan Reavis wearing rubber gloves carefully searches for any evidence of Wilbanks' trace.

There were no exchanged vows in the end. Instead, Wilbanks sued her former fiance, claiming he ran off with $500,000 they got for selling their story. He denied that and countersued, saying he should be paid for the emotional distress of being left at the altar.

But, the two eventually dropped lawsuits they filed against each other.

Mason, 35, married Shelley Martin, 34, in a quiet ceremony Saturday at his parents' home in Duluth. In this 2005 photo, Mason expresses his joy at the news that WIlbanks was found alive.

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How well do you recall Jennifer Wilbanks a.k.a. 'Runaway Bride'? She vanished in April 2005, four days before her wedding.

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