The two-month search for Madeline Kingsbury ended tragically Wednesday with the discovery of her body and the arrest of her ex-boyfriend.
“Finally,” Kingsbury’s sister Megan said on TikTok. “We’re glad he’s in custody. He’s not walking around a free man anymore.”
Kingsbury, 26, a research coordinator at the Mayo Clinic, was last seen the morning of March 31 dropping her kids off at daycare with their father, Adam Fravel, a software engineer.
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He told cops they then went back to her apartment in Winona and that he left to run errands, only to find she was gone when he returned.
From the start, police said they feared for Kingsbury’s safety, calling her disappearance “involuntary” and “suspicious.” Her cellphone, wallet, and ID were found in the home, and there was no indication she had traveled on foot or by car.
Twelve days after Kingsbury’s disappearance, Fravel issued a statement denying he had anything to do with it.
“Over the course of the last 12 days, my family and I have been subject to a myriad of accusations regarding the disappearance of the mother of my children, Maddi Kingsbury,” he said.
“During these last 12 days, I have cooperated with law enforcement at every turn, including sitting down for multiple interviews with Winona County law enforcement. I did not have anything to do with Maddi’s disappearance. I want the mother of my 5-year-old and 2-year-old to be found and brought home safely. I want that more than anything. ”
Fravel said his absence at press conferences and community searches has been misinterpreted as a sign of guilt. “That could not be further from the truth,” he added.
Weeks later, Fravel petitioned for custody of the kids and was turned down.
On Wednesday afternoon, a Fillmore County sheriff’s deputy acting on information gleaned during the investigation found human remains in some brush off Highway 43 in Mabel, Minnesota.
“Because of this, law enforcement personnel have arrested Adam Fravel on probable cause in connection to her disappearance,” Winona police said on Facebook.
They said authorities were working to definitively identify the body, and Megan Kingsbury said in a statement on Thursday that the match was made.
“We’re relieved that Madeline has been found after months of intensive searching and grateful for the extraordinary efforts by law enforcement, other first responders and volunteers,” the statement said.
“We’re certain that the correct person has been arrested, will be appropriately charged, and convicted of his crimes. Things are moving in the right direction there and we look forward to getting justice for Madeline. For right now we will mourn as a family and properly and respectfully lay her to rest.”
