More than two months after the disappearance of Madeline Kingsbury, a 26-year-old mother from Minnesota, police said they have arrested the father of her children after her remains were discovered along the side of a highway near the Iowa border.
Adam Fravel was taken into custody on Wednesday after law enforcement officers uncovered the body “using information generated during the Madeline Kingsbury investigation,” according to a press release from the Winona Police Department. The remains were found tucked in some brush off Highway 43 in Mabel, about an hour south of Winona.
Kingsbury’s family on Thursday confirmed the remains belonged to their missing loved one.
“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,” her family said in a statement to KAAL-TV.
“We’re certain that the correct person has been arrested, will be appropriately charged, and convicted of his crimes,” they added. “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.”
Kingsbury was first reported missing on March 31, after she did not show up to work. Calls from friends and family also went unanswered and Kingsbury later failed to pick up her two children from daycare.
In April, police said that evidence suggested Kingsbury’s disappearance was “involuntary and suspicious,” and investigators “remain[ed] extremely concerned for her safety.”
Meanwhile, Fravel has denied any involvement in the case.
“I did not have anything to do with Maddi’s disappearance,” he said. “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.”
Following Kingsbury’s disappearance, the couple’s children were initially placed in the care of Winona County Health and Human Services Department, but they have since been placed in “relative foster care” with their grandparents.
On Monday, Fravel, who did not have custodial rights, filed for custody of their children. The request was ultimately denied.
He was being held Thursday on suspicion of second-degree murder.