Scott Sherman is the mayor of Winona, Minnesota, a small city on the banks of the Mississippi.
Mayor Scott Sherman: There's just something about Winona that keeps pulling you back.
Mayor Scott Sherman: Living here in Winona is really cool.
It's so cool that TV and film star Winona Ryder is named for the town, as she told the world in a 2020 Super Bowl ad.
WINONA RYDER IN WINONA AD: "There's something about this place, something that feels so me …"
Madeline Kingsbury, 26, also felt that certain "something" about Winona. So, when Mayor Sherman heard that she had gone missing, he tells "48 Hours" correspondent Peter Van Sant he wanted to help.
Mayor Scott Sherman: I felt that Maddi was a daughter of Winona … She was a bright young woman working through school, working … a — a job in Rochester and raising kids all at the same time, that's a lot. … So, I had respect for Maddi.
And Mayor Sherman thought he could help because, as an avid bicyclist, he rides the woodsy paths around Winona all year long.
Peter Van Sant: You know the back roads of this area?
Mayor Scott Sherman: I do.
Peter Van Sant: And you went out yourself.
Mayor Scott Sherman: I did.
But as mayor, Sherman felt his first job was to support Maddi's distraught mother Krista Naber when she arrived at the search command center.
Mayor Scott Sherman: she gave me a hug that I will never forget the rest of my life. … It was a hug that showed fear, concern.
Peter Van Sant: And so what were — what message were you sending with that hug?
Mayor Scott Sherman: I'm here for you. We will do our damndest to find her.
WHERE'S MADDI KINGSBURY?
Maddi's family first began worrying about her late in the afternoon of Friday, March 31, 2023, when Naber realized she had not heard from her daughter for nearly the entire day.
Krista Naber: Something in my gut just didn't feel right.
Peter Van Sant: Mother's intuition?
Krista Naber: Right.
Naber contacted Megan, Maddi's older sister, but Megan said she was not overly concerned.
Megan Kingsbury: I sent her a couple of text messages anyway … "Hey mom, hasn't heard from you. Can you call her? Can you text her back? … She's concerned." … and she didn't reply to that.
Living together at the time was Maddi and Adam Fravel, the father of their children. Their relationship began during their college years at Winona State University.
Megan Kingsbury: He was sociable and showed a genuine interest in getting to know us. It was clear that he was quite captivated by Madeline.
While still in college, Maddi and Adam discovered they were expecting their first child and made the decision to settle in Winona.
Theresa Sis Mejia: He stepped up, he really did.
Adam's sister, Theresa Sis Mejia, mentioned that Adam left school to provide for his growing family.
Theresa Sis Mejia: He knew he was going to be a father. He found a job and supported Maddi while she continued her education, which she successfully completed.
Following graduation, Maddi secured a position at the Mayo Clinic as a clinical research coordinator. Her father, David Kingsbury, shared that she had also started pursuing an advanced degree.
David Kingsbury: She was enrolled in a master's program at the University of Minnesota. Maddi had just finished her first semester and was excelling in her studies.
Meanwhile, Adam, who had studied computer science in college, began taking flying lessons with the goal of obtaining his pilot's license.
Theresa Sis Mejia
Reflecting on his pilot lessons, he felt a sense of accomplishment that made him proud.
Krista Naber
Enjoying his company, it was evident that he deeply cared for Madeline.
On the evening of March 31, Megan Kingsbury, just hours away from Winona, contacted Fravel, expressing her concern.
Megan Kingsbury
He told me ... I arrived home today and she was nowhere to be found ...
Fravel and the children were at his parents' house in Mabel, an hour south of Winona. Megan Kingsbury then messaged Maddi's close friend Katie Kolka, who resided in Winona, expressing her inability to contact Maddi throughout the day. Katie's response was, "I'm on my way over there right now."
Upon arrival, the house was eerily silent, prompting Kolka to contact the Winona police.
Peter Van Sant
Katie Kolka
Megan Kingsbury: I was pacing in my kitchen. I was getting really worried.
Similarly, Maddi's father attempted to reach her.
David Kingsbury
Where are you? What's going on?
Fravel turned to social media for assistance, posting on Facebook: "If anybody has seen Maddi … please contact the Winona PD, me or any of her family members … Please help me find the mom to our 2 beautiful kids."
Mary Fulginiti | "48 Hours" consultant: The authorities made significant efforts to locate Maddi swiftly, recognizing the urgency of the situation.
Subsequently, the investigation gained momentum.
Mary Fulginiti: Their actions were truly remarkable.
"TIKTOK, I NEED YOU TO DO YOUR THING …"
Word of Maddi's disappearance spread rapidly within Winona and neighboring areas. Hailey Scott, a sorority sister of Maddi, felt compelled to assist.
Hailey Scott: I reached out to our sorority members, contacted news agencies, and explored every avenue available.
Following discussions with the daycare provider, investigators verified the drop-off through security footage.
This video has never been seen by the public until now. It was one of the last times Maddi is seen on video before she vanished. Police say Fravel told them he and Maddi returned home after the drop-off and she went to her office in the basement to do a little work before heading to the Mayo Clinic.
Mary Fulginiti: I have taken a look at all the evidence that we have thus far in the Maddi Kingsbury case.
Mary Fulginiti, a former prosecutor and defense attorney, is a "48 Hours" consultant. She says that in his police interview, Fravel told detectives he left Maddi his car and borrowed her blue minivan to haul some boxes.
Mary Fulginiti: He … proceeded to put some boxes in the van that he was going to move to his parents' house … He said he didn't see Maddi again … He drove to his parents' house on Highway 43.
Police say Fravel told them he got as far as the township of Choice, Minnesota, when he realized he had made a mistake.
Mary Fulginiti: The boxes that he had in the van were ones that he actually wanted to put in storage. So he turned around and he went back to the home.
Police say Fravel told investigators he arrived back at his Winona home around 11:30 a.m. and saw his car still in the driveway.
Mary Fulginiti: He said he had texted her a few times, asking about dinner and whether or not she was gonna pick up the kids … There was no response.
Police Investigation Unfolds in Mabel, Minnesota
Reporter Mary Fulginiti: After assuming Maddi had carpooled to work, Fravel proceeded to pick up the kids from daycare alone.
Authorities reviewed surveillance footage from the daycare, which supported Fravel's account.
Reporter Mary Fulginiti: Fravel took the children to his parents' house in Mabel, Minnesota, around 4:20 or 4:30.
During a police interview, investigators observed fresh scratches on Fravel's face following Maddi's disappearance. Fravel claimed the scratches were from a friend's dog.
Reporter Mary Fulginiti: Inside the house were Maddi's belongings - purse, jacket, and credit cards - but Maddi was nowhere to be found.
Two days later, Megan Kingsbury took to TikTok, urgently seeking help to find her missing sister, Madeline Kingsbury.
Megan Kingsbury's TikTok Post: TikTok. I need you to do your thing. I need your help. This is my sister Madeline Kingsbury. Um, she's missing …
Megan Kingsbury: At that moment, I wasn't even aware that I was still in a towel.
The post garnered over half a million views, amplifying the search for Maddi.
MEGAN KINGSBURY TIKTOK POST: … Help us find her. She's got two kids. She's my best friend, she's my little sister. We need to get her back. Please help us.
Peter Van Sant: You're obviously in terror here … The look on your face. But you're reaching out for help and people wanted to help.
Megan Kingsbury: Yes.
CBS MINNESOTA | NEWS REPORT: So many people have asked to help look for Madeline Kingsbury that it allowed law enforcement to expand their search …
Hailey Scott: There's no guidebook on how to search for a missing loved one … and searching for her was easily one of the most traumatic things I've ever experienced in my life.
By the end of the weekend, there was no sign of Maddi. Day by day, Megan Kingsbury continued to post updates to TikTok.
MEGAN KINGSBURY TIKTOK POST: It's Tuesday the 25th ... still no Madeline … now next week is May. We're still in this hell …
Megan Kingsbury: I feel like all of us, like every night, we would look out — it's cold. It's dark. Is she like laying out there somewhere? … Is she like trapped somewhere? … and you just — you don't know what to do.
Behind the scenes though, investigators began taking a harder look at Fravel, especially after Maddi's friends came forward with some disturbing stories.
Hailey Scott: Madeline called me shortly after an incident happened between her and Adam … where he had told her that if she wasn't careful, she was going to end up just like Gabby Petito.
The Gabby Petito case fixated the nation in the fall of 2021, after the young woman from Long Island was found dead one month after she seemingly vanished from the face of the earth.
Hailey Scott: I told her you need to get out and you need to get it … get out now. That's not an empty threat.
A FATHER'S WARNING: "HE IS GOING TO KILL YOU"
Years before Maddi vanished, her sister Megan Kingsbury says the on-again, off-again relationship between Maddi and Fravel seemed to be headed for a bad ending.
Megan Kingsbury: He just wasn't nice to her … He didn't act like he loved her. He didn't help take care of the kids. He didn't clean.
Peter Van Sant: And honestly, did you reach a point where you — you advised your sister, you know, perhaps it's time to move on in your life from him?
Megan Kingsbury: Many times.
Maddi's father David said it pained him to see how shabbily Fravel treated Maddi.
David Kingsbury: I think she literally poured out a river of love for him and she got nary a drop in return.
Maddi's stepmother Cathy Kingsbury reveals that Maddi often reached out to her, expressing frustration over Adam Fravel's lack of help with the children.
Cathy Kingsbury: She'd be just sobbing miserably that Adam's not helping. I hate this.
However, Maddi's family and friends disclose more troubling incidents. Hailey Scott recalls an unsettling encounter about three years before Maddi's disappearance, where she witnessed Fravel physically assault Maddi during a video call. According to Scott, Fravel became enraged during the call and slapped Maddi across the face.
Hailey Scott: He yelled, "I don't understand why this house is such a f****** mess" … and she said, "I don't know, maybe you should help me," um, to which Adam turned, and he slapped her with an open hand across the face.
In September 2021, 18 months prior to Maddi going missing, Maddi confided in Scott about Fravel's disturbing fixation on the Gabby Petito case.
Hailey Scott: Adam had an infatuation, and I would call it an obsession, with the Gabby Petito case.
Scott further reveals that Maddi recounted a chilling incident where Fravel threatened her after watching a news segment about the Petito murder, escalating to a physical altercation.
Hailey Scott: He had actually turned and grabbed her by the throat and pinned her down and told her that if she wasn't careful that she would end up just like her.
Katie Kolka recounts her efforts to persuade Maddi to take action.
Katie Kolka: And I pleaded with her, please go to the hospital, document everything, do whatever it takes. You need to have this documented so you can safely leave with those kids.
Katie Kolka: She was more concerned about Adam getting arrested.
Peter Van Sant: She wanted to shield him.
Katie Kolka: She was protecting him.
Despite this, Maddi confided in her father David and stepmother Cathy about the choking incident.
Cathy Kingsbury: She was terrified. She had been choked and was very, very frightened and needed help.
Cathy Kingsbury explains that she and David went to Maddi's house, rescued her and the children, and brought them to safety.
David Kingsbury: She came with us. We went to her house so she could gather some belongings and clothes for the kids, then we put the kids in the van and headed back to our home in Farmington.
However, Cathy Kingsbury reveals that Maddi only stayed at the Kingsbury residence for three days before returning to Fravel because he was "distressed" that she had left.
MADDI KINGSBURY TEXT: You know I'm not really okay with or over the fact that you put your hand around my neck and pushed me down in front of the kids earlier so don't
Not okay with it at all but especially with them there.
ADAM FRAVEL: You'll adjust
MADDI KINGSBURY: The f*** I will …
Detectives wanted to know everything about what Fravel did the day Maddi went missing and began collecting surveillance videos from homes and businesses.
Police say a blue minivan that looked like Maddi's was videotaped on Highway 43 — the road Fravel told police he'd taken that morning. But according to a search warrant, the timestamps do not match Fravel's timeline. The cameras tracked the blue minivan until around noon, police say.
Mary Fulginiti: And then there's a 45-minute gap.
That gap occurs around Choice, Minnesota. Police say that is where Adam told them he realized he took the wrong boxes, turned the van around and drove straight back to Winona. According to that warrant, "there is a 45-minute window that Fravel could not be tracked."
Mary Fulginiti: Where was he during those 45 minutes? I mean, that was the big, you know, the big question, right?
But with no direct evidence and no sign of Maddi, investigators did not arrest Fravel, and he continued to live at his parents' home with the children. Meanwhile, Megan Kingsbury continued her updates on TikTok.
MEGAN KINGSBURY TIKTOK POST | April 14, 2023: Madeline still has not been located, unfortunately. Um, so we're still plugging along and looking for her.
As detectives continued to investigate, they uncovered a new lead — a romantic relationship Maddi had been having with another man, an Army veteran named Spencer Sullivan.
Spencer Sullivan: I'm Spencer Sullivan and I was dating Madeline Kingsbury at the time of her disappearance.
And now police were interested to know Sullivan's whereabouts the day Maddi went missing.
A NEW LOVE INTEREST FOR MADDI KINGSBURY
In the spring of 2023, Maddi knew her relationship with Fravel was falling apart, and she was brutally honest with her father.
David Kingsbury: She says, you know, dad … I know that I'm in a bad relationship. I know my family knows it. … I know my friends know it. And I'm embarrassed about it, but I don't know what to do about it.
But Maddi had joined Tinder, which is where she reconnected with Sullivan, who she knew from college.
Spencer Sullivan: We were friends on Facebook, so I knew that she had kids … I wasn't sure what the status of the relationship was exactly with, uh, Adam Fravel.
As it turns out, Sullivan also knew Fravel from Winona State.
Spencer Sullivan: He was in the same fraternity as I was.
Peter Van Sant: Tell me about the Adam you knew back then.
Spencer Sullivan: He and I didn't really talk all that much.
Maddi told Sullivan that she and Fravel had reached the point of no return. Maddi and Sullivan began dating, but quietly.
Spencer Sullivan: We both kind of agreed to keep it secret between us until she was on her own.
Mostly, the relationship was a secret from Fravel. Maddi's family and girlfriends knew about it, and they told police about Sullivan when Maddi went missing. That's when investigators called Sullivan in for an interview.
Spencer Sullivan: They were … just kind of asking me general questions about when we had started dating. … where were you at this point, what were you doing at this point?
Peter Van Sant: What were you doing on March 31st, 2023?
Spencer Sullivan: Uh, that morning I was at work.
Sullivan surrendered his phone while investigators checked out his alibi. As they looked into his story, they also learned from Maddi's friends and family that only six days before she disappeared, she finally had told Fravel about Sullivan.
Megan Kingsbury: She didn't want to lie and she just — it bubbled up inside of her the — this guilt.
Peter Van Sant: Is it true that Maddi told Adam about Spencer?
David Kingsbury: Yeah.
Peter Van Sant: That's a pretty gutsy thing to do.
Cathy Kingsbury: Uh, we wish she had not.
It all came pouring out and Megan Kingsbury says Maddi told Fravel she was leaving him and looking for an apartment where she would live with their children.
Peter Van Sant: And did she tell you how Adam reacted to the news?
Megan Kingsbury: I think she said he cried, and he was really hurt at the time.
Theresa Sis Mejia: I'm sure he was personally hurt and heartbroken — all of a sudden, you find out … she has feelings for somebody else and it's over.
Fravel's sister Theresa, as well as his brother Ryan, say news of the break-up hurt them as well, because Maddi was a cherished member of their extended family.
Ryan Fravel: Maddi was a sister to all of us, and our hearts are … broken. … We lost a close family member.
They point out that, although Adam Fravel and Maddi always had an on-again, off-again relationship, they stayed together for seven years.
Theresa Sis Mejia: I was completely shocked when I learned that she was dating Spencer behind my brother's back.
Katie Kolka, Maddi's best friend, recalls the tense moments between Maddi and Fravel following Maddi's revelation about Spencer. The day before Maddi disappeared, tensions were at an all-time high.
Katie Kolka: Maddi called me in tears, asking if she could come work at our house. She mentioned that Adam was constantly watching her while she worked, making unsettling comments about another man raising his kids and questioning if she would leave him for someone else. She felt extremely threatened.
After leaving her house, Maddi went to Kolka's place before eventually ending up at Sullivan's home in Winona.
Spencer Sullivan: She came over to celebrate my birthday, bringing along a couple of donuts for us to share. She even had a gift for me - a small Star Wars LEGO set. I received a Star Wars-themed card from her as well.
Peter Van Sant: That was the last time you saw her in person.
Spencer Sullivan: I remember she stood at my front steps, turned around with a smile, waved, and (sighs) that was the final image I have of her.
Within days of his interview, police confirmed Sullivan's alibi and returned his phone. Eventually, police say, he was cleared. Maddi's friend Hailey Scott says Spencer was the best thing to happen to her in a long time.
Hailey Scott: Spencer showed her that she deserved so much more than Adam.
Sullivan says he was devastated in the wake of Maddi's disappearance.
Spencer Sullivan: I thought to myself, like, stuff like this doesn't — doesn't happen here, you know. … we were talking about her moving into her new place and … She wanted me to come over and help her decorate, do stuff … and then the next day she's gone.
He says he couldn't stop thinking about the birthday card Maddi had given him.
Spencer Sullivan: I think I re-read that card at least a hundred times … (sighs) that like all I could think was this — this (LEGO) kit — sorry. (emotional).
Four days after Maddi vanished, her parents were given temporary custody of her children.
MEGAN KINGSBURY TIKTOK POST: My niece and nephew are no longer in the custody of their father. … you know we appreciate the concern for them but they're — they're in good hands.
Interview Excerpts:
- Lauren Debois: She told me … that she needed me to know that if anything were to happen to her or her children, that Adam did it. She would never leave her children for anything under any circumstances.
- Mary Fulginiti: You know, it's my understanding that they are trained and specifically trained to find human — human remains.
After ten days of Maddi's disappearance, police received a tip regarding Adam Fravel, who was reportedly seen riding near his parents' home with a shovel in his family's utility vehicle. Police acted on this information, seizing his vehicle. Cadaver dogs, as mentioned in a search warrant, alerted to a scent in the vehicle and on the shovel.
Subsequently, two days later, Adam released a statement through his attorneys denying any involvement in Maddi's disappearance. The statement emphasized his cooperation with law enforcement and his desire for the safe return of the mother of his two children.
As the search for Maddi continued, a gathering was held at a local church 35 days after her disappearance, where emotional tributes were paid to her.
KATIE KOLKA (crying): "She was the kindest most beautiful soul … even on the brightest days, it still feels dark and gloomy without her here."
During the gathering, David Kingsbury addressed the crowd.
The Search for Madeline
DAVE KINGSBURY: We know that Madeline is around her somewhere. She just didn't vanish. Someone knows something. Somone saw something. Make this your battle cry. "Where's Madeline? Where is she?" Make it loud and don't stop until she's found.
Recent Developments
For Megan Kingsbury, June 7, 2023, started out like every other day since Maddi disappeared.
MEGAN KINGSBURY TIKTOK POST | June 7, 2023: Hey TikTok. Good morning. Happy Wednesday. ...Maddi's still missing … Please continue to spread the word about my sister, Madeline…
Hours later — 68 days after Maddi disappeared — a sheriff's deputy found human remains along a lonely country road.
David Kingsbury: While it hadn't been certified by the medical examiner, they're fairly certain that it was my daughter.
Megan Kingsbury: I was on the floor and like screamed, crying … you know what do you say when somebody tells you something like that? There's nothing that you can say.
For Maddi's best friend Katie Kolka, the news was shattering; her reaction captured on her video doorbell camera.
The very next day, Maddi's friends heard the news from Winona's police chief.
Krista Naber: You can't ever prepare yourself for one of your children, um, to — to die, much less be found somewhere outside, found as she was.
Crime Scene Details: Megan Kingsbury described the scene where Maddi's body was found, wrapped in a gray fitted bed sheet with black duct tape around the ends and a towel around her head.
Suspect Arrested: Adam Fravel has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder. The grey bed sheet used to wrap Maddi matched a set found in her home.
Connection to Fravel Family: The isolated road where Maddi's remains were discovered had been maintained by the Fravel family. Investigators believe there are 45 minutes unaccounted for in Fravel's timeline.
Cause of Death: Maddi's autopsy listed her cause of death as "homicidal violence."
Motive Uncovered: In October 2023, Adam Fravel faced additional first-degree murder charges. Investigators allege Fravel was distressed by his financial dependence on Maddi and the end of their relationship. It was also discovered that Maddi had a death benefit of $170,000 with no listed beneficiary.
Witness Testimony: Mary Fulginiti described Maddi as Fravel's "meal ticket" and the one who provided for them.
As per a search warrant, upon entering the couple's residence, law enforcement observed that the surveillance cameras within the house had been removed. Mary Fulginiti, a former prosecutor, highlighted the manner in which the cameras seemed to have been dismantled, capturing the detectives' attention.
Mary Fulginiti: The surveillance cameras that he had set up were ripped out, they were no longer there … so all of those are signs that, you know, he's hiding something with a guilty conscience.
Theresa Sis Mejia: He had taken them down weeks earlier … they were in the midst of relocating.
Fravel's siblings mentioned that at one point, before Maddi and Adam ended their relationship, the couple had intentions to move in together to Adam's parents' residence.
Ryan Fravel: We want people to understand that there are two perspectives to the situation.
Consider, for example, the cadaver dogs alerting to the utility vehicle and shovel. Fravel's family explained that this was because their father had used the shovel the previous weekend to relocate a deceased raccoon.
Peter Van Sant: A raccoon.
Ryan Fravel: A raccoon.
Theresa Sis Mejia: They used a shovel to pick it up.
Theresa Sis Mejia: … every time we would try to clarify anything to the investigators, we were just treated with that. Like — like we're just delusional.
Theresa Sis Mejia: I believe Adam 150 percent that he is innocent … he would never harm Maddi, the mother to his children, you know, he'd never do such a thing.
Fravel's defense team has asked a judge to suppress Adam's police interview because they claim he wasn't read his Miranda rights. It's the interview where he admitted making comments about Gabby Petito but said he was only joking.
In preliminary hearings, his lawyers also say there is not enough evidence to warrant the first-degree murder charge. Fravel's siblings insist authorities should take a closer look at Spencer Sullivan.
Ryan Fravel: We're trying to — trying to expand, uh, the investigator's eyes that something else could easily have happened.
Peter Van Sant: What do you think of that?
Spencer Sullivan: I mean, they're trying to protect Adam … they kind of need to come to terms with the fact that — my personal opinion, uh, they got the right person.
David Kingsbury: There is a presumption of innocence in our legal system, of course, that everybody is entitled to … But there is also a court of common sense. And in the court of common sense, all roads lead to Adam Fravel.
The Kingsbury family is speaking out now in hopes of saving someone else.
David Kingsbury: That's the reason why we're here and that's the reason why we're talking about this because we don't want it to happen to anybody else.
Peter Van Sant: This is emotionally very powerful right now for you. Are you — you don't blame yourself for this. Do you?
Cathy Kingsbury: I think we all blame ourselves to some degree. When I would talk to her, I didn't push, you know. I wanted her to be able to say things when she was ready to say things.
David Kingsbury: He had his hooks in her, and the kids make it really difficult.
For Maddi's father, whatever the jury decides, there is a larger truth that haunts him.
David Kingsbury: I'll always be the father of a murdered girl.
Spencer Sullivan told "48 Hours" he too feels haunted by a conversation he and Maddi had weeks before she vanished.
Spencer Sullivan: She told me that she was in love with me … And unfortunately, I was too chicken s*** to say it back, but (sighs).
Peter Van Sant: Does that bother you?
Spencer Sullivan: Every day.
Spencer Sullivan: I saw a future with Maddi and it felt like somebody just ripped the next 60 years out of my life.
For Megan Kingsbury, who was so close with her little sister, she still can't imagine a future without Maddi.
Megan Kingsbury: I feel like even just saying that we're sisters doesn't describe being the closeness that we had. We were confidants for each other.
Peter Van Sant: How do you want Maddi to be remembered?
David Kingsbury: Somebody that mattered. And I think everything we've seen and heard from people really affirmed that … she mattered to many, many people … all of her friends … said "she's my best friend." She was everybody's best friend.
Adam Fravel's trial is expected to begin in the fall of 2024. His defense team has asked for a change of venue.
Produced by Paul LaRosa and Jordan Kinsey. Mike McHugh producer-editor. Mike Loftus is the associate producer. Michelle Sigona and Ryan N. Smith are the development producers. Greg McLaughlin and Jason Schmidt and Michelle Harris are the editors. Patti Aronofsky is the senior producer.
