I never commented on the runaway bride thing cause I didn't even know about it until it was over and the story itself didn't interest me. But I did find one tidbit of more recent developments in the case (italicized state notations added):

The 32-year-old woman faces one felony count making of false statement and one misdemeanor count of making a false police report.

The felony charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and the misdemeanor up to a year in jail if she is convicted. She could also face up to $11,000 in fines and be ordered to reimburse authorities for the cost of the search.

"We believe this is a reasonable next step in the case. We believe the grand jury made the right decision," said Gwinnett County (GA) District Attorney Danny Porter.

[...]

Several state and county agencies already said they will not ask her to reimburse them for a total of $10,000 spent in additional search costs. But the city of Duluth (GA) still is seeking repayment of about $40,000 and Mayor Shirley Lassetter said her city attorney has been in negotiations with Sartain.

[...]

The office of Wilbanks' attorney, Lydia Sartain, said no statements will be issued until next week. Sartain has said she does not think Wilbanks committed a crime in Gwinnett County (GA). Authorities in Albuquerque (NM) had said they would not charge Wilbanks.

For those of you that didn't follow the story, Ms. Wilbanks ran from her home state of Georgia to New Mexico. The city and county involved in Georgia have come down on her and her family - citizens of the area. New Mexico, on the other hand, has completely given her a pass despite the fact that they were simply drawn in cause that's where she landed.

In a random case, one would guess that the town where she comes from and has ties would be more lenient and understanding than one that was just circumstantially drawn in. I suppose it's mostly a matter of money. Georgia agencies, no doubt, spent a lot more money investigating it than did its New Mexico counterparts. But even so, it's bad PR for Georgia authorities (even if they're doing the right thing) and it wouldn't be bad PR for New Mexico authorities to do the same.