WINONA, Minn. (TCD) — Police on Thursday announced the arrest of a 29-year-old man after a missing woman’s remains were found near the side of a highway.
According to the Winona Police Department, on Wednesday, June 7, a Fillmore County Sheriff’s Office deputy was using “information generated during the Madeline Kingsbury investigation” and located apparent human remains in some brush off Highway 43 in Mabel. Following the discovery, law enforcement officials arrested Kingsbury’s ex, Adam Fravel, in connection with her disappearance and death.
Kingsbury’s cause and manner of death were not revealed.
Winona Police confirmed in a news conference Thursday that the remains were positively identified as Kingsbury’s. Police Chief Tom Williams said Kingsbury’s body was found off a “low-maintenance public roadway and was not property owned by the Fravel family or her relatives.”
Williams confirmed investigators previously searched the area, but her body was “covered and concealed in such a manner that she was not visible.”
Kingsbury was last seen Friday, March 31, when she and Fravel dropped their children off at day care at approximately 8 a.m. Williams said Kingsbury was home by 8:15 a.m. Her co-workers, however, became concerned when she failed to show up for work that day, which was “very unlike her.”
Fravel told police he took Kingsbury’s minivan and left at 10 a.m., and when he returned home, she was gone. Police found her wallet and phone at her house.
Williams said at an April 5 news conference, “We believe Maddi’s disappearance is involuntary, suspicious, and we are all concerned for her safety.”
Winona County Jail records show Fravel was booked on a charge of second-degree murder.
