Reward offered for information in 'suspicious' disappearance of Winona woman
Winona police continue to ask the public for help in the search for 26-year-old Madeline “Maddi” Kingsbury, and her family is now offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to her whereabouts.
The mother of two was last seen the morning of March 31. She didn’t show up for work or pick up her children, ages 5 and 2, from daycare that day.
“We believe Maddi’s disappearance is involuntary, suspicious, and we are all concerned for her safety,” Winona Police Chief Tom Williams said at a news conference Wednesday.
“Please help us find Madeline,” Kingsbury’s sister, Megan, said at the news conference in Winona. “The children need their mother. We need our daughter, our sister, our aunt and our best friend back. We just want to find her.”
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Authorities said Wednesday that Kingsbury and the father of her children dropped the kids off at daycare at about 8 a.m. March 31. Kingsbury then returned home. The children’s father told police he left the home in Kingsbury’s minivan — a dark blue 2014 Chrysler Town and Country — at about 10 a.m., and that Kingsbury was not home when he returned later in the day.
“We believe a van similar to Maddi’s van was driven on County Road 12 and (State) Highway 43 in Winona County, and then southbound on Highway 43 through the eastern part of Fillmore County,” Williams said. “Later a van similar to Maddi’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 remain parked in the driveway of Maddi’s residence from 1:30 p.m. on. Nothing to date has indicated that Maddi left the residence on foot or in another vehicle.”
Authorities are not looking for the van. Williams said they searched it, and the home, and found Kingsbury’s phone, wallet and ID, along with the jacket she had been wearing the morning she went missing.
Authorities said at Wednesday’s news conference that investigators are “examining all possibilities,” including the possibility of foul play. They said there was not a suspect or specific person of interest in Kingsbury’s disappearance as of Wednesday.
Law enforcement agencies and volunteers have been searching on foot, by vehicle and from the air along the route Kingsbury’s van is believed to have followed in eastern Winona and eastern Fillmore counties.
Williams asked people in those areas — especially along County Road 12 and State Highway 43 — to walk their properties and check outbuildings.
“Please 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 31 to April 1, and contact law enforcement,” Williams said. “Your information might be the final piece that brings Maddi home.”
Kingsbury works at Mayo Clinic and is a graduate student at the University of Minnesota, her sister said.
“This 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,” Megan Kingsbury said. “We’re beyond grateful, and we’re truly touched.”