Police provide update on Madeline Kingsbury’s disappearance; search continues

(ABC 6 News) – The Winona Police Department, Fillmore County Sheriff’s Office and the Minnesota BCA provided an update on Friday on the investigation into the disappearance of 26-year-old Madeline Kingsbury, the woman and mother from Winona.

“Are you any closer to finding a suspect or person of interest?” asked a reporter.

“Again, it’s open and active, the leads that are coming in are unbelievable. We are actually getting hundreds of them. We have a lot of information that we are trying to process right now to help do that, so it continues to be open and active,” explained Winona Police Chief Tom Williams

Chief Williams said law enforcement are very grateful for the outpouring of volunteers who are helping in the search for Kingsbury.

Multiple questions were asked related to Maddie’s disappearance but met with the same answers

“I’m not gonna comment on that,” Williams said.

The father of Maddie’s children has not been seen at recent press conferences, or investigations, not commenting on that either.

“Has he been involved in the search at all?

“Um, I’m not gonna comment on that,” Williams said.

Chief Williams said multiple agencies are working relentlessly to find Madeline and the circumstances surrounding her disappearance. He reiterated that residents in Fillmore, Winona and Houston counties to walk their property, check vehicles and outbuildings, walk trails, and to look for anything suspicious or out of place. He also added for residents with video cameras to check them and save the video.

Fillmore County Sheriff John DeGeorge said all resources within the Sheriff’s Office have been committed to finding Madeline and they will continue to work tirelessly. He said assistance and support from communities has been incredible. He said a team of investigators are on standby and ready to respond to any calls.

Chief Williams said the scope of the search is now larger than what they initially looked at based on the number of volunteers that showed up to help.

“There are so many conflicting stories it’s hard to follow and know what’s fact and what’s speculation,” volunteer Ted Hazelton said.

Hundreds of volunteers on Friday showed up at two locations – Winona County-Goodview Fire Department and Fillmore County Rushford-Peterson School – in an organized search for Madeline.

“We hope that there are things that they know and will help lead us to where we need to search, the areas we need to search so that this can be resolved and they can find her,” said Kara Welch.

But volunteers say they understand why comments are kept to a minimum.

“It’s a fine balancing act between the public’s right to know and the integrity of the investigation and that’s what makes it confusing for the general public,” said Hazelton.

But that doesn’t mean people won’t stop asking.

Earlier this week, police said that a ‘vehicle matching Kingsbury’s van’ was spotted on County Road 12 and Highway 43 in Winona County and south on Highway 43 in eastern Fillmore County. Later, a van similar to Madeline’s traveled back toward Winona on Highway 43.

RELATED: Organized mass search for Madeline Kingsbury planned Friday

Kingsbury has not been seen since the early morning of March 31st. She has not had contact with friends or family since. For a timeline of Kingsbury’s disappearance, click the link below.

RELATED: What we know about Madeline Kingsbury’s disappearance

A GoFundMe page has also been setup in the search for Kingsbury. It can be found, HERE.

ABC 6 News will continue to follow this developing story and provide additional information when it becomes available.