Madeline "Maddi" Kingsbury

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2:25My name is Sarah Turney and this is Voices for Justice.

2:33Today, I'm discussing the case of Madeline Kingsbury from Winona, Minnesota. About a week before recording this episode, I got a Google alert for my sister Alyssa's name. Usually, these just mention weird taglines from old stories or maybe a random mention online. But when I opened the email, I read the title, Madeline Maddie Kingsbury, 5 Fast Facts to Know, Heavy.com. So I clicked the link. The article explains that Maddie went missing on March 31st of this year, so 2023, after she and the father of her children, Adam Fravel, dropped their kids off at daycare. The article goes on to discuss Maddie's life, and specifically some of her activity on social media throughout the years.

3:18Things like her looking for childcare, her being upset about mass shootings in the country, the overturn of Roe v. Wade, racism in policing. I mean, obviously Maddie is a very passionate person. And then I saw it. She shared my sister Alyssa's story. Maddie was a part of Alyssa's army. That's when I knew I had to help, and fast. To pay it forward and help her like she helped Alyssa. This is a very new case, and there are a lot of ways you can help, so let's dig right in. This is the case of Madeline Kingsbury. As the last week of March 2023 was coming to an end, 26-year-old Maddie Kingsbury was looking forward to a weekend away with her older sister Megan in Minneapolis.

4:09Maddie lives with her two children, 5-year-old Ellie and 2-year-old Noah, along with their father, Adam Fravel, in Winona, Minnesota, about two hours away from Megan. So the sisters aren't terribly far apart, but far enough that they usually opted for daily texts, calls, and FaceTime chats over traveling hours to see each other in person. On Thursday, March 30th, Megan and Maddie are chatting over FaceTime. It was just Ellie's fifth birthday, and Aunt Megan got her a new leotard for gymnastics that she was very excited to show her before they headed off to class. The plan for the weekend was for Maddie and Ellie to drive to Megan in Minneapolis on Saturday, while Noah stayed home with his father Adam.

4:51On the morning of Friday, March 31st, Maddie and Adam drop the kids off at daycare just after 8am and return home. Around 10am, Adam takes Maddie's 2014 dark blue Town & Country Chrysler minivan out for a few hours. Now, reports don't exactly say why he took the van or what he was doing while he was gone. But when Adam returns around 1.30pm, Maddie is gone. At this point, Maddie's friends, family, and employer don't know this. As far as I could find, Adam doesn't tell anyone Maddie was gone when he got home, or at least not her family. Maddie doesn't show up for her job as a clinical researcher at the Mayo Clinic.

5:34Now, while Maddie does often work from home, on the 31st, she planned on making the about-hour drive into the office. But she was a no-call, no-show. Here is Maddie's sister Megan explaining what happened next in an interview with Lou Raguse from Care 11 News. We both get up really early for work, and she's up early with the kids, so I will typically hear from her before 8 a.m. sometimes. I had sent her a funny photo the night before we went on a trip together last summer, just a long weekend to Rhode Island. So it was just a funny picture from there. She didn't see it until that morning of the 31st.

6:17And she just kind of sent her response back, you know, LOL. And, you know, and I had had responded to it, you know, just kind of general like chit chat. But and that was at like 815 that she sent me a message. And then that was the last that I heard from her. And I didn't hear from her the rest of the day. I didn't really think about it. I know she's busy. And then my mom reached out to me probably around 6 p.m. asking if I had heard from Madeline because my mom had sent some messages. And I think maybe tried to call her throughout the day with no response. And that just isn't normal. And I was like, nah, you know, she's fine.

7:07She's probably busy with the kids. But I did send her a few messages. Hey, mom's concerned. Can you call her, text her back? I didn't get a response to that. So a couple of hours went by and I tried to call her a few times. it rang but went to voicemail sent her a few other messages um and it was about seven o 'clock I reached out to some friends of hers nobody else had heard from her um and that's when we kind of started to get concerned I reached out to my dad he usually talks to her regularly too he hadn't heard from her so at that point especially because she was supposed to come to my house the next morning with, um, with her daughter, Ellie, um, there were definitely some alarm bells going off because it just was so unlike her.

8:04Um, and then just as it got later into the night and, you know, she still wasn't responding or picking up her phone, um, you know, pretty quickly we wanted to file a missing persons report because, um, it's, it's just such abnormal behavior. And were you and other family members reaching out to Adam as well to see what he knew? I did reach out to him that evening at about 7pm. Um, or no, close to 8pm. Uh, he didn't get back to me, I think until after nine. Um, but just kind of given the circumstances of their relationship at the time, you know, he just basically said he didn't really think anything of it that he hadn't heard from her.

8:54But Maddie's family has the opposite reaction. They know she would never just miss work and not show up to pick her kids up from daycare or come home to them that night. Maddie is a high achiever. She's a grad student. She is actively working to advance her career and her personal life. Everything about this situation is just extremely out of character for Maddie. Investigators are dispatched to Maddie and Adam's home. Now, we don't know if Adam voluntarily let them search the home or if they had to obtain a search warrant, but when they do, they realize just how dire the situation really is. It's clear that wherever Maddie is, she didn't plan on being gone long.

9:38Because in the home, they find Maddie's phone and her wallet. This episode of Voices for Justice is sponsored by Chewy. When I think about the holidays, I think about tiny moments with my dogs. The ones that really make the season bright. And that's why I'm joining Chewy Claws, who's out here making pet wishes come true. It's a really cool program. From November 4th to December 24th, share your pet's wish at chewy.com slash It could actually become real, but I think the best part is that it helps others too. Each wish triggers a donation of five meals to shelters and rescues across the country.

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11:05This episode is brought to you by 20th Century Studios' new comedy, Ella McKay. From Academy Award-winning writer-director James L. Brooks, Emma Mackey plays Ella McKay, an idealistic young woman who juggles family and work in a story about the people you love and how to survive them. Featuring an all-star cast, including Jamie Lee Curtis, Jack Loudon, Kumail Nanjiani, Iowa Debrey, Julie Kaffner, with Albert Brooks and Woody Harrelson. Ella McKay, now playing. The response to Maddie's disappearance has been enormous. The media, law enforcement, and the community have been working tirelessly to bring her home since her case first hit the news cycle.

11:46The searches for Maddie began immediately, and so did the investigation into the day she went missing. On April 3rd, the Winona Police Department released a statement that reads in part, quote, Since March 31st, investigators have interviewed numerous people, including family and friends. Investigators have been canvassing neighborhoods, searching areas, and attempting to collect any video surveillance that might give us clues as to where Kingsbury or her van, a 2014 dark blue Chrysler town and country, may have traveled. Recent developments led investigators to believe a van matching the description of Kingsbury's was seen traveling from Winona to the eastern part of Fillmore County during the day on March 31st.

12:31The Winona Police Department and the Fillmore County Sheriff's Office are asking residents and landowners in eastern Fillmore County to check their properties, including any video cameras, doorbell cameras, game cameras, etc., for any signs of the van passing through or stopping. In addition, we asked residents slash landowners to check for signs of a disturbance or other suspicious activity. We are specifically looking for information during the time frame of 8am on March 31st to 4pm on April 1st, along the highway corridor of Winona and Fillmore Counties. End quote. In just the first few days after Maddie went missing, law enforcement, family, friends, and volunteers covered over 30 miles of ground looking for Maddie Which is just incredible Now, the day after this statement was released on April 5th, Maddie's family joins the Winona Police Department in a press conference And Maddie's sister Megan takes the mic I want to warn you that the clip I'm going to play you is hard to hear But it's powerful.

13:41You can just hear this internal struggle Megan has between being rightfully extremely emotional and knowing she needs to continue to get the facts out. I can tell you that is not an easy thing to do. I will discuss how amazing and brave Maddie's sister Megan has been throughout this process. But for now, here's Megan. I'm not a public speaker, so I appreciate your patience with me. Thank you all for coming. My family and I really appreciate all of the attention and wanting to help. I'm Megan Kingsbury, I'm Maddie's older sister. Speaking on behalf of my entire family, those of us in town, out of town, out of state, including my older brother, Stephen, wasn't able to make it here at the moment.

14:37He's overseas on deployment. He's currently en route from Romania to be here. As it's been said, we all know and I know everyone wants details about the investigation and what's been discovered. I'm not talking about that right now. And to be honest, I don't know everything either. I'm here to talk about Madeline and her children.

15:12So, Madeline is many things. She's a mother, sister, daughter, best friend, granddaughter, and a niece. It's a long list. She's a young mother of two, five-year-old Eliana, two-year-old Noah. Ellie is spunky and goofy. She loves to be crafty and creative. She's inherited her mother's kindness and curiosity about the world. Little Noah has turned into a chatterbox. Can't tell what he says half the time. He loves to dance. He loves rock and roll. He was blessed with the red-headed jean from my grandfather. It's missed everyone else. He's got dimples and eyes that sparkle. And Madeline is a hardworking and dedicated mother as well as a grad student at the U of M.

16:15And works for the Mayo Clinic. Family is everything to her. She's grown into an impressive and beautiful young woman.

16:31this community has really rallied around us and so many wonderful people have traveled from all over the state and beyond to come and help find my sister and we're beyond grateful and we're truly touched

16:50law enforcement obviously has been extremely hard working and we'll never be able to thank everyone enough for what they're doing for Madeline. And we will remain loud about this and continue to advocate for Madeline any way, shape, or form.

17:20we're offering a$50 ,000 reward for any information leading to her whereabouts so please help us find Madeline the children need their mother we need our daughter, sister, aunt and our best friend back

17:42um uh yeah we just want to find her so thank you

17:57like i said it's not an easy clip to hear but this is the reality of the whole maddie being missing has left in her loved one's lives. And I don't think it's fair to anyone to sugarcoat or ignore that. But aside from humanizing Maddie and discussing the impact her disappearance has had, the Winona Police Department provides a more detailed timeline of the day she went missing, information about Adam, the investigative efforts to find Maddie, and how the public can help. I'm Winona Police Chief Tom Williams. I would like to thank all of you for taking the time to spread the word about the disappearance of Madeline Maddie Kingsbury.

18:40We are very hopeful that we will find her. Maddie was last seen the morning of Friday, March 31st. Maddie and the father of their children dropped the children off at daycare shortly after 8 a.m. Maddie did not show up for work, which is very unlike her, and we are worried for her safety. During the course of our investigation, we know that Maddie returned to her residence on Cary Drive in Winona around 8.15 a.m. on March 31st. The vehicle that Maddie normally drives is a 2014 dark blue Chrysler Town & Country minivan, depicted to my right. The father of Maddie's children has spoken to law enforcement and told us that he left the residence in Maddie's van around 10 a.m.

19:31and upon returning later in the day, Maddie was not home. We believe a van similar to Maddie's van was driven on County Road 12 and Highway 43 in Winona County and then southbound on Highway 43 through the eastern part of Fillmore County. Later, a van similar to Maddie's traveled back toward Winona on Highway 43. All of this occurred between approximately 10 a.m. and 1.30 p.m. We believe the van remained parked in the driveway of Maddie's residence from 1.30 p.m. up. Nothing to date has indicated that Maddie left the residence on foot or in another vehicle. The public has asked if we are currently looking for the van, and we are not.

20:22Investigators have searched the van and the residence. Inside the residence, investigators located Maddie's phone, the jacket she had been wearing earlier in the morning, along with her wallet and ID. Maddie's family and friends tried to contact Maddie throughout the day on March 31st without success. It was unlike her not to respond. Based on all of this, we believe Maddie's disappearance is involuntary, suspicious, and we are all concerned for her safety. Law enforcement began searching areas nearby Maddie's residence and along Highway 43 in both Winona and Fillmore counties. Our search efforts have been ongoing.

21:10We've been assisted by other law enforcement agencies and volunteers. Our search efforts have included people on foot, in vehicles, as well as by water and air. We are doing everything we can to bring Maddie home. We have spoken with many of her family members and friends and are actively following any developing information. No stone is being left unturned, and we are using every tool at our disposal to find her. Many of you have asked how you can help, and we really appreciate that. Here's what we are asking the public to do. If you live in or around Winona and Fillmore counties, especially along and around the routes previously mentioned, we're asking you to walk your property, check out buildings, and have a good look around for any signs that someone passed that way or for signs of a disturbance.

22:10Please check any cameras that you have on your property, including game cams, doorbell cams, and security cams. Look for someone passing by. We also ask that you check the video for a dark blue minivan driving by or stopping. Regardless of whether you see something or not, if you have a camera along any of the mentioned routes, please save any video from March 31st to April 1st and contact law enforcement. If you know anything or saw something suspicious, please call the Winona Police Department or Crime Stoppers. Your information might be the final piece that brings Maggie home. Now, I know it can be hard to picture or remember the areas discussed, So I will share the maps of the areas published by the Winona Police Department on our website and social media channels.

23:07As of recording this episode, the Winona PD has not confirmed if the van they are discussing was Maddie's van. And they either don't know or won't say who was driving the vehicle.

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24:07That's Andrew, a real United pilot. These small interactions can shape a kid's future. It felt like I was the captain. Allowing my son to see the flight deck will stick with us forever. That's how good leads the way. After this, the Winona Police Department conducts some massive searches for Maddie. Between the time when Maddie went missing on the 31st and April 8th, Maddie's friends, family, and thousands of volunteers showed up for these searches. Of course, there was also a heavy law enforcement presence and a variety of teams searching different areas, including the several bodies of water in the area, but so far it seems that no sign of Maddie has been found.

24:46On April 8th, the Winona Police Department announces that they are ending the large organized searches for Maddie, but that doesn't mean the searches stopped altogether. At this point, they just shift their focus to more targeted searches as leads continue to come in. Now, let's address the elephant in the room, Adam. I don't think I really need to say much to acknowledge the suspicions I think most of us have. But suspicions aren't facts, so let's go over some of what we know. And to be honest, at this point, it's not a ton. Both law enforcement and Maddie's loved ones have been very cautious about what they say about Adam.

25:25So I'm going to follow their lead. But here's what's being reported. According to Megan, Maddie and Adam are not currently in a romantic relationship. Maddie was actively looking for a new place to live, but planned to stay nearby so Adam could see the kids. The owner of the daycare the kids were dropped off at confirms that it is not unusual for both Maddie and Adam to drop the kids off together. However, Megan says that Adam picking them up alone is unusual in her opinion. We also know that Maddie and Adam each have their own vehicle. Maddie has the 2014 dark blue Chrysler Town & Country minivan.

26:07I don't know what type of vehicle Adam has. We just know that he does have his own transportation. So why he would take Maddie's van instead of his own car, I don't know. And I haven't seen any statements from Maddie's loved ones that would give us further insight into this, aside from a mention that while Maddie's car had car seats installed, Adams didn't. Now, while we're talking about the van, I think it's worth mentioning that, according to reporting from Fox 9 Minneapolis, a neighbor reported that on the day Maddie went missing, they saw Adam back the van into his driveway. They say this is something they've never seen before.