Search for Minnesota mother Madeline Kingsbury draws thousands of volunteers: ‘We are not giving up’


Thousands of people have volunteered their time to find a Minnesota mother of two young children who mysteriously went missing almost two weeks ago.

Madeline Kingsbury, 26, hasn’t been seen or heard from since March 31, and Winona, Minnesota, Police Chief Tom Williams has called her disappearance “suspicious” and “involuntary.”

Her story inspired thousands to give up time over the Easter weekend to comb through more than 120,000 acres of land mapped out by law enforcement, which is made up of nearly every geographical terrain along the Mississippi River, including several bodies of water, swamps, flat farmland, bluffs and steep cliffs, and wooded areas. 

On Friday, at least 1,900 people volunteered to look for Kingsbury with law enforcement, and another 700 people searched for her on Saturday, Winona police said.

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Minnesota mother Madeline Kingsbury, 26, was last seen dropping her children off at day care around 8 a.m. on March 31. (Madeline Kingsbury / Facebook)

“We are not giving up, and we want to thank everyone for their continued support for [Maddie] and her family,” the department said in a statement.

Winona police declined to answer Fox News Digital’s questions on Tuesday about whether they believe Kingsbury is still alive, and they did not confirm whether search warrants have been executed or if there’s a suspect or person of interest.

Police and family have said they have to be tight-lipped so that a potential investigation won’t be jeopardized.

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Madeline’s sister said her family’s only focus is on finding her.

“There’s a lot of speculation, of course, with people coming up with theories and asking us a lot of questions that we can’t answer,” Megan Kingsbury said in last week’s interview.

Minnesota mother Madeline Kingsbury, 26, was last seen dropping her children off at day care around 8 a.m. on March 31.

Minnesota mother Madeline Kingsbury, 26, was last seen dropping her children off at day care around 8 a.m. on March 31. (Winona, Minnesota, Police Department)

“We just want to keep the focus on finding her. We’re asking people keep their eyes and ears open.”

Megan said during her exclusive interview with Fox News Digital last week that her sister had sent her a “goofy” text around 8:15 a.m. on the morning she went missing.

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The last confirmed sighting of Madeline was around 8 a.m. on March 31, when she dropped her kids off at day care with the children’s father. She didn’t pick them up that afternoon or report to work.

Madeline’s boyfriend and the children’s father, with whom she was reportedly splitting up, told law enforcement that he was with Madeline until about 10 a.m. on March 31 and “returned later that day, and Maddie was not home,” the police chief said.

Megan Kingsbury and her brother are shown after learning about her sister's "suspicious disappearance."

Megan Kingsbury and her brother are shown after learning about her sister’s “suspicious disappearance.” (Megan Kingsbury)

WATCH NANCY GRACE ON ‘AMERICA’S NEWSROOM’

Screenshots of a Facebook post that he purportedly wrote said he was with Madeline until 10:30 a.m. the day she went missing, left to run errands, and that she was gone by the time he returned that afternoon.

Nancy Grace said on Fox News Channel’s “America’s Newsroom” that Madeline’s text to her sister is where the timeline starts.

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“I’m going with the text to the sister, the funny picture exchange. That couldn’t be recreated by someone else,” Grace said on the show. “You know when you joke and laugh on a text with somebody, they can’t have your phone and recreate your personality, so that was real.”

“That’s the only thing I believe right now. She was alive and accounted for at 8:15 that morning.”

Madeline Kingsbury's family wears custom-made sweatshirts during their search with her description and contact information for tips.

Madeline Kingsbury’s family wears custom-made sweatshirts during their search with her description and contact information for tips. (Megan Kingsbury)

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“Concern really started the evening of Friday, March 31,” Megan said. “My mom messaged me asking if I had heard from my sister that day because my mom had sent some messages that had no response.”

Madeline’s family called all her friends, and none of them had heard from her either.

The sisters had plans to hang out the next day, and Madeline typically calls the day before to iron out details, but that never happened, Megan noted.

“This is very unlike her,” Megan said. “She’s not the type of person who would want to take a break and not tell anybody. If she had a problem and wanted to get away, she would come to my house.”

FULL MEGAN KINGSBURY INTERVIEW

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The family is offering a $50,000 reward for anyone who has information about Madeline’s disappearance.

Law enforcement has urged anyone in the area to check their security cameras, walk their properties and to save all video footage from March 31 and April 1, even if they don’t notice anything.

“The children need their mother. We need our daughter, our sister, our aunt, our best friend back,” Megan said.



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