Kidnapped Bride's Parents: 'We Did Go Too Far'

June 1, 2007 — -- From their very first date last year, Julianna Redd and Perry Myers have been inseparable. Both clean-cut Utah college students from traditional Mormon families, they were an easy fit. "We clicked really quickly and had a wonderful time together," says Redd. "It was very natural."

It was a whirlwind romance that led to a marriage proposal after only two months of courtship. And their good fortune continued when Redd's parents, Julia and Lemuel "Hardy" Redd -- cattle farmers from the small Utah town of Monticello -- seemed to approve of the match. Hardy Redd even described Myers as "every father's ideal of a son in law."

But the tide soon turned, and Redd and Myers' trip to the altar would lead to turmoil and a family torn apart. Incredibly, Redd's parents are facing a trial next month for allegedly kidnapping their own daughter to prevent her from marrying the man she loved.

The family conflict began with a classic wedding spat about the ceremony location. Redd and Myers decided on a morning service at the world renowned Salt Lake Temple, but Redd's mother expected it would be in their small hometown of Monticello.

"There was just trouble from there," says Redd. She claims her parents began to oppose the marriage and refused to help with the wedding preparations. But Julia and Hardy Redd insist that they wanted to help, but were excluded from the planning. They also say they began to be concerned about their daughter's future husband whom they feared was isolating her.

"Julianna's personality changed. Her behavior changed. Suddenly she wasn't this happy, giddy person anymore," Julia Redd says.

'Taking Away My Freedom'

Despite the building tension, the wedding plans seemed to be on track, but everything changed when Redd's parents offered to take her shopping the day before the wedding. Redd says after she got into the car, her father started driving and wouldn't stop for hours. She recalls that she tried to convince them to turn around, saying, "Let me out of the car, you cannot do this. This is taking away my freedom." Julia and Hardy Redd say they wanted simply wanted to talk to their daughter, in the hopes that she would reconsider marrying a man they had come to mistrust.

"We were trying to get her attention, [to let her know] that we really were concerned and we wanted her to step back and have a look at this," Hardy Redd says.

Redd claims she was trapped in the car, and that her parents refused to let her call Myers or to get out of the car.

By afternoon they stopped at a gas station in Salina, Utah, where Redd used the bathroom. She claims a recent knee surgery prevented a quick escape. "I didn't have a wallet, cell phone, nothing," she says. "I couldn't just run away from my parents."

When asked why she didn't walk into a store and call for help, Redd says she was "too scared" of her parents to yell to anybody.

Fearing the Worst

Redd says she refused to get back into the car, and she claims the family squabble then turned "violent." She admits her parents had no weapon but describes being pushed up against a wall. She also says "they grabbed my hair and pulled me back." Red tells 20/20 that she "mentally and physically" gave up and could not continue to "fight them anymore."

Julia Redd denies that the altercation turned violent. Hardy Redd recalls "holding her wrists" but says that was the only restraint he imposed. They both say that their daughter could have gotten away from them. "Every place we stopped was a public place," says Julia Redd. "But she never yelled or screamed or anything."

In the meantime, Redd's fiancé had become frantic, waiting with more than a hundred guests at a campus location for the prewedding dinner. Asked if he thought he might have a "runaway bride" on his hands, Myers says he never had that thought. He says he immediately knew something was wrong. "The first thing I thought was, OK, the parents have kidnapped her, that simple," he says. "My worst imagination is exactly what I told the police. I said, 'There's a possibility of a murder-suicide, homicide-suicide situation.'"

Statewide Search, 'Scenic Route' Home?

The police began a statewide search for the missing bride, trying to locate her in Utah motels. Redd and her parents actually stayed at a hotel in Colorado, where Redd says she spent a tearful and restless night.

The next morning, her wedding day, Redd says she finally told her parents that she wouldn't call Myers. "That's the only way I could get them to take me back," she says. But Hardy Redd says that he gave Julianna the option of a faster route back home or the "scenic route," and surprisingly, Redd chose the longer scenic route.

On the drive back to Utah, Redd knew that it was too late to make her own wedding. "I couldn't look at the clock, to be honest with you," she says, "because I, the timing you know, I'm supposed to be married at 8 o'clock. Every time I looked at the clock, you know, time is ticking to -- there's no way I'm gonna get back in time."

After 600 miles and nearly 30 hours, the Redds pulled up to Julianna's apartment building, where Myers was waiting. "She was shaking and she was pale, pale white. We put her in the car, and, and we took her away, " recalls Myers.

'A Crime Was Committed'

According to police reports, investigators then questioned Redd's parents. Her father revealed they had made advance reservations at the Colorado hotel, and her mother even admitted that in the tussle she had pulled her daughter's hair. In the police report, Redd appears forgiving, saying "they never really hurt me" and "I feel that she really thought this was right."

Nevertheless, the police reported their finding to prosecutors, who decided to charge the Redds with kidnapping their own daughter, a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Hardy and Julia Redd say it was a shock to hear of the charges. "The idea of kidnapping did not occur to us," says Hardy Redd.

In December 2006, Julia and Hardy Redd pleaded not guilty to the felony kidnapping charges, and Julianna Redd testified against them.

Myers and Redd say that they want justice, despite the fact that the accused kidnappers are Redd's parents. "This is about truth. A crime was committed, accountability has to happen," says Myers. Redd agrees, saying that "if nothing happens, it kind of wholesales the idea of kidnapping your kids if you want your way."

Moving Forward

Perry Myers and Julianna Redd were married in a small ceremony in the Salt Lake Temple days after the alleged kidnapping. They recently had their first child, whom Julia and Hardy Redd have not seen.

As the Redd's face a trial and potential prison time, the rift in their family has been traumatic not only for them but for Julianna's five sisters, who remain loyal to their parents. Redd's sisters told "20/20" in a statement that their parents' "actions in August may have been rash but were done out of deep concern and love."

Ten months after that fateful drive, Hardy Redd admits that he and his wife made a mistake.

"Parents have got to assume some responsibility. … But we did go too far," he says.

The Redd's have made repeated apologies to their daughter. "I love her! I want her happy," says Julia Redd. "I want her safe. I want the best for her, and I want the best for Perry too."

She tearfully adds, "We are sorry. We do hope that they will forgive us, and we hope that at some time there will be a reconciliation."