UPDATE: Winona PD to hold press conference Thursday afternoon regarding the Madeline Kingsbury investigation
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(ABC 6 News) – UPDATE 06/08/2023: The Winona Police Department said it will hold a press conference at 1:00 p.m. Thursday at Winona City Hall Council Chambers.
Winona PD is expected to release more information about the Madeline Kingsbury investigation after the father of the missing Winona mother’s children was arrested after human remains were found north of Mabel on Wednesday.
ABC 6 News will broadcast the press conference LIVE on-air and stream it on our website and social media.
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(ABC 6 News) – The father of Madeline Kingsbury’s children has been arrested in Winona County on suspicion of second-degree murder after a body was found Wednesday afternoon in Fillmore County.
Adam Fravel, 29, was taken into custody at 7:12 Wednesday evening. Formal charges have not yet been filed.
Adam Fravel (Credit: Winona County Sheriff’s Office)
Winona police released the following statement on social media:
“A Fillmore County deputy found human remains on Wednesday afternoon north of Mabel, Minnesota. The body was found in some brush off Highway 43 and was located using information generated during the Madeline Kingsbury investigation.
Because of this, law enforcement personnel have arrested Adam Fravel on probable cause in connection to her disappearance. Numerous members of the Winona Police Department, the Winona County Sheriff’s Office, the Fillmore County Sheriff’s Office, the Southeast Minnesota Violent Crimes Enforcement Team, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) agents and crime scene personnel, and the Southern Minnesota Regional Medical Examiner’s Office are working as quickly as possible to positively identify the remains.
We are asking the community to respect the family’s privacy at this time and not to speculate on the case until further information is made available. We will share an update Thursday once we have more information confirmed.”
Winona Police Department
Kingsbury has been missing since March 31 after dropping her children off at daycare. Investigators have called her disappearance “involuntary and suspicious.”
ABC 6 News reached out to Maddi’s sister, Megan who told us ‘the person our family suspected is now in custody. It’s a silver lining. A big chunk of this horrible part is over and it brings us relief.“
Megan shared the video below to social media Wednesday evening.
@megsmpls ADAM FRAVEL HAS BEEN ARRESTED #madelinekingsbury #maddikingsbury #adamfravel #missingmaddijane #findmadelinekingsbury #viral #boost #fyp #checkin #missing #missingperson #crimetok #truecrime #crime #vanished #disappearance #disappeared #mn #minnesota #winona #winonamn #arrest #arrested #breakingnews #breaking ♬ original sound – Megan
Police said Kingsbury did return home after the two dropped her kids off that morning in her 2014 dark blue Chrysler Town & Country van.
“The father of Maddi’s children has spoken to law enforcement and told us that he left the residence in Maddi’s van around 10 a.m. and upon returning later in the day, Maddi was not home,” Winona police chief added.
Police added that a vehicle matching Kingsbury’s van was spotted on County Road 12 and Highway 43 in Winona County and on Highway 43 in eastern Fillmore County, then returned to Kingsbury’s home at around 1:30 p.m. on March 31.
Searches for Kingsbury have been ongoing since her disappearance. Porch lights across Minnesota have been lit up blue to ‘light the way home for Maddi.’
In April, Fravel released a statement through his attorney proclaiming his innocence.
“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.“
A judge ruled in April that Kingsbury’s children would remain with county social services and not be released to their father. A trial was scheduled but later cancelled June 5.
Winona police are expected to give more details at a news conference on Thursday.
ABC 6 News will provide additional information as it becomes available.