A search is underway for a Minnesota mother-of-two who has been missing for nearly a week, after she was last seen dropping off her kids at daycare before returning home.
Winona Police said they consider the disappearance of Madeline Kingsbury, 26, “involuntary” and “suspicious” and they are investigating whether foul play was involved.
Kingsbury was last seen on Friday when she dropped off her two children, ages 5 and 2, at daycare with the father of her kids at 8 a.m., Winona Police Department Chief Tom Williams said in a news conference Wednesday.
She returned to her home in Winona around 8:15 a.m. The father of Kingsbury’s children told police he left Kingsbury’s residence in her van around 10 a.m. and when he returned later in the day, Kingsbury was not home.
Williams said a van matching the description of Kingsbury’s vehicle — a 2014 dark blue Chrysler Town and County minivan — was seen driving on County Road 12 and Highway 43 in Winona County, southbound on Highway 43 through the eastern part of Fillmore County, and back to Winona on Highway 43 from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
However, it’s not clear who was driving the vehicle.
The van is believed to have remained parked in the driveway of Kingsbury’s residence from 1:30 p.m. onwards.
“Nothing to date has indicated that Maddie left the residence on foot or in another vehicle,” Williams said.
Police said investigators searched the van and residence and inside the home found her phone, the jacket she was wearing earlier that morning, her wallet and ID.
“Based on the investigation, we know that the children were dropped off at the daycare and the van returned home. Based on that, the investigation is still open and ongoing as to what happened upon returning home,” Williams said.
Police said that Kingsbury failed to show up for work on March 31st and didn’t answer any calls or message from friends and family. She also failed to pick up her children from daycare that afternoon and didn’t make other arrangements for them, which is “extremely out of character for her.”
Law enforcement has been searching areas near Kingsbury’s residence in Winona, and along Highway 43 in Winona and Fillmore counties. The search includes people on foot, in vehicles as well as by water and air.
Police said they have no suspects or persons of interest at this time.
Williams said “no stone is being left unturned” in the search and said “we are all concerned for her safety.”
Police are asking the public who live in Winona and Fillmore counties to watch their properties, check their home security cameras for signs of a vehicle matching Kingsbury’s minivan, and to look for signs of disturbance around their residences.
Kingsbury’s older sister Megan Kingsbury said the family is offering a $50,000 reward for information on her whereabouts.
“Please help us find Madeline. The children need their mother. We need our daughter, our sister, our aunt and our best friend back,” she said.
She described her sister as a “hardworking and dedicated mother,” who was a grad student and works for the Mayo Clinic.
Kingsbury is described as 5 feet, 4 inches tall, weighing 135 pounds with brown hair and hazel eyes. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension are also aiding in the case.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
