Missing Minnesota mom Madeline Kingsbury’s family say they believe “the right person is in custody,” after police confirmed the arrest of the father and former partner of the 26-year-old who mysteriously disappeared in March, Fox News Digital has learned.
“The family believes the right person is in custody and holding out hope that we’re going to find Madeline,” Rebecca Jacobson, Kingsbury’s aunt, said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
The Winona Police Department said the arrest of Kingsbury’s former partner and the father of her two children, Adam Fravel, came after human remains were found in Mable, Minnesota on Wednesday, June 7.
“We’ve been informed that Adam is in custody,” Kingsbury’s father said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Adam Fravel (Winona County Detention Center)
Minnesota mom Madeline Kingsbury, 26, was last seen dropping her children off at daycare around 8 a.m. on March 31 (Winona, Minnesota, Police Deparment)
Fravel, 29, was listed on the jail roster page of the Winona County Sheriff’s Office Wednesday, which notes he is being held on suspicion of second-degree murder.
The department said in a Facebook post that a body was found in some brush off Highway 43 and was located using information generated during the investigation.
“Because of this, law enforcement personnel have arrested Adam Fravel on probable cause in connection to her disappearance.” Winona police wrote in a Facebook post.
Law enforcement agencies are working to positively identify the remains, police said.
Adam Fravel, who is the father of missing Minnesota woman Madeline Kingsbury’s children, said he’s innocent in a statement 12 days after her “suspicious” and “involuntary” disappearance (Adam Fravel/Facebook)
Winona Police Chief Tom Williams previously said that Kingsbury’s disappearance was believed to be “involuntary,” and “suspicious,” and said police were “concerned for her safety.”
FATHER OF MISSING MINNESOTA WOMAN’S CHILDREN BREAKS SILENCE 12 DAYS AFTER SHE VANISHED
Fravel was the last person who saw her alive on March 31. He previously claimed innocence, saying that he “did not have anything to do with Maddi’s disappearance.”
“Over the course of the last 12 days my family and I have been subject to a myriad of accusations regarding the disappearance of the mother of my children,” Fravel said in a statement in April. “I did not have anything to do with Maddi’s disappearance.”
Adam Fravel, who is the father of missing Minnesota woman Madeline Kingsbury’s children, said he’s innocent in a statement 12 days after her “suspicious” and “involuntary” disappearance (Adam Fravel/Facebook)
Following Kingsbury’s disappearance, Fravel has fought in court for custody of his two children, a 5-year-old girl and a 2-year-old boy.
Court documents previously obtained by Fox News Digital detail Fravel not cooperating with Child Protection Services while attempting to reclaim custody of them.
“At one point, (Fravel) took the younger child into the residence and locked the door despite being told that the children were in the care and custody of Winona County,” a petition filed April 4 by Winona County Health and Human Services alleges.
“While (Fravel) was in the home with the younger child, a social worker could hear (Fravel) shouting expletives.”
Madeline Kingsbury’s family wearing custom-made sweatshirts during their search with her description and contact information for tips (Megan Kingsbury)
In the April 4 encounter, Fravel was allegedly “non-cooperative” and wouldn’t allow social workers access to the kids, according to the petition.
That was the day Fravel allegedly had a tense, volatile standoff with social workers and police who attempted to take custody of the children, ages two and five, because he doesn’t have custodial rights, according to the court filing.
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Throughout Kingsbury’s disappearance, her family has rallied community members to continue searching for the missing mother.
Following the arrest of Fravel, Kingsbury’s family said that they are “distraught” from the news of the arrest, and that “it’s all hitting home at once.”
