The Disappearance of Maddi Kingsbury | Full Episode + Post Mortem | Forensic Files

[Music] I would like to thank all of you for taking the time to spread the word about
The Disappearance of meline Maddie Kingsbury our search efforts have included people on foot in vehicles as
well as by water and air mine is a hard workking and um dedicated mother family is everything to her uh
she's grown into an impressive and beautiful young woman please help us find meline the
children need their mother my sister is kind and quirky and caring and my best friend Maddie
Kingsbury a young Sorority Girl from Winona State University meets Adam fril a young fraternity boy they have two
children they were not married Maddie was last seen the morning of Friday March 31st Maddie and Adam took the kids to
daycare and dropped them off around 8:00 a.m. by really they got back to the house and Adam said he saw Maddie go
downstairs and where a home office was to work he left and he didn't see her again I sent her this funny picture and
we were just kind of laughing back and forth about it and that was at 8:15 that morning and then I didn't hear anything
else madd's family and friends tried to contact Maddie throughout the day on March 31st without success I sent a
message to Adam and I said hey none of us have heard from meline all day he said I'm concerned too because I haven't
heard from her and so I met my parents you know with the kids so I contacted a friend of Maddie her name's Katie I said
I need you to go to her house and see if she's there nobody was home so I called
the police I started sobbing at that point they said that there was no sign of her there's no sign of a struggle we
are very hopeful that we will find her no stone is being left unturned who is Spencer Sullivan Spencer Sullivan is a
man that meline had started seeing it was an on andof type situation um because there were some times where she
would tell me I don't know if this is going to work out because of Adam We Believe madd's disappearance is
involuntary suspicious and we are using every tool at our disposal to find konel
so I took to social media Tik Tok mainly hey Tik Tock I'm uh posting an update I
am out in Filmore County we still haven't found my sister I mean hundreds of thousands of people saw her Tik toks
almost 1,900 people signed up today to come look for my sister and she was pleading with the public to help and
pleading with everybody to take a look everywhere and anywhere for her sister people just don't vanish my sister is
still missing police and other law enforcement are obviously still searching everyone's frustrated
and we just can't figure out where she is Maddie's still missing I think it's day
68 I would talk to her when I was outlooking for her I wanted to be the one to find her I didn't want anyone
else in my family to find her if it's going to be one of us please let it be me this has gone on too long we we want
to bring her home [Music] [Music] there's just something about Winona that keeps pulling you back Scott Sherman is
the mayor of Winona Minnesota a small City on the banks of the Mississippi living here in Winona
is really cool so cool that TV and film star Winona Ryder is named for the town as
she told the world in this Super Bowl ad there's something about this place [Music]
something that feels so [Applause] me 26-year-old meline Kingsbury also felt that certain something about Winona
so when mayor Sherman heard that she had gone missing he wanted to help I felt that Maddie was a daughter
of Winona she was a bright young woman working through school working a job in Rochester and
raising kids all at the same time that's a lot so I had respect for Maddie and mayor Sherman thought he could
help because as an avid bicyclist he rides the woodsy paths around Winona all year long you know the back roads of
this area I do and you went out yourself I did but as mayor Sherman felt his first job was to support Mattie's
distraught mother Christa neighbor when she arrived at the Search Command Center she gave me a
hug that I will never forget the rest of my life it was a hug that showed fear concern and so what were you what
message were you sending with that hug I'm here for you we will do our damnedest to find her
mty's family first began worrying about Maddie late in the afternoon of Friday March 31st 2023 when Christa realized
she had not heard from her daughter for nearly the entire day something in my gut just didn't feel right mother's
intuition right Christa contacted Megan mad's older sister but Megan said she was not
overly concerned I sent her a couple 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 at the time Maddie was living with Adam frel the father of
their children the two had met in college at Winona State University he was outgoing and seemed interested in
getting to know us and he seemed very almost infatuated I guess with meline while still in college Maddie and Adam
learned they were expecting their first child and decided to settle in Winona he
manned up he manned up Teresa sis Mahia is Adam's sister and she says Adam quits
school to support his new family he knew he was going to be a dad he went and got
a job um and he had that job up until Co and then he got laid off while he let Maddie continue college so that she
could graduate and she did she graduated he supported her after graduation Maddie
began working at the Mayo Clinic and became a clinical research coordinator and madd's Father David Kingsbury said
she recently had begun studying for an advanced degree she was a graduate student master's program at the
University of Minnesota had just completed her first semester there and was doing very well Adam who had studied
computer science in college began taking flying lessons with an eye toward getting his pilot's license when he was
taking pilot lcons that that he felt so accomplished you know it made him feel good and I was so proud of him for doing
it for doing something for himself I enjoyed being around him and I could tell that he really cared for
meline on the evening of March 31st Megan was hours away from Winona when she reached out to Adam who said he was
concerned he said I got home today and she was gone Adam and the children were at his parents home in Mabel an hour
south of Winona that's when Megan messaged Mattie's close friend Katie kka who lived in Winona my parents and I
haven't been able to get in contact with Maddie all day Katie responds I'm on my
way over there right now the house was eerily silent and it was at that point Katie called the Winona police and you
want this missing person's report to be filed but what did they tell you they told me that I wasn't able to report it
because it hadn't been 24 hours yet I was pacing in my kitchen I was getting really really worried so was
mti's father who tried to reach her where are you what's going on the next morning with Maddie now missing nearly
24 hours the Kingsbury family filed a missing person's report and then Adam went to Facebook asking for help
his post read in part if anybody has seen Maddie please contact the Winona PD me or any of her family members please
help me find the mom to our two beautiful kids the police went to Great Lengths I have to say to try to find
Maddie quickly because they know that there's a ticking clock on these things and the
investigation took off I mean it's extraordinary what they did the news that Maddie was missing spread
quickly through Winona and Beyond Haley Scott one of Matty's sorority sisters wanted to help I
reached out to our sorority I reached out um to news outlets I was grasping at straws at the same time did detectives
reached out to Adam fral according to police reports Adam told them how on the morning of March
31st the couple dropped off their children at the daycare center investigators confirmed the drop
off after speaking to the daycare provider who gave police this videotape fire this video has never been seen by
the public until now it was one of the last times Maddie is seen on video before she
vanished police say Adam told them he and Maddie 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 and I have taken a look at all the evidence that we
have thus far in the Maddy Kingsbury case Mary feni a former prosecutor and defense attorney is a 48 Hours cons
consultant she says that in his police interview Adam told detectives he left Maddie his car and borrowed her blue
minivan to haul some boxes he proceeded to put some boxes in the van that he was going to move to his
parents house said he didn't see Maddie again he drove to his parents house along Highway
43 police say Adam told them he got as far as the town ship of choice Minnesota when he realized he had made a mistake
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 Adam told investigators he arrived back at his Winona home
around 11:30 a.m. and saw his car still in the driveway he said he had texted her a few
times asking about dinner and whether or not she was going to pick up the kids there was no response police say Adam
told them he'd assumed Maddie had car pooled to work and when he did not hear from her he went alone to do that pickup
of the kids again the video from the daycare appears to corroborate that part of
Adam's story so he ultimately picked up the children around 4:20 or 4:30 um from
daycare and brought them to his parents house in Mabel Minnesota during a police interview
investigators noted that Adam had fresh scratches on his face the day after Maddie disappeared Adam's sister says he
told her the scratches came from a friend's dog on Saturday April 1st police searched the Winona house
where Adam lived with Maddie and investigators reported they saw no overt signs of Foul Play but what
was in the house was her purse her jacket her credit cards um but no Maddie 2 Days Later an anxious Megan rushed out
of her shower and alerted her Tik Tock followers to what was going on Tik Tock I need you to do your thing I wasn't
thinking about the fact that I was in a towel I need your help this is my sister
meline Kingsbury um she's missing [Music] the post eventually had over a half million views 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 yeah I mean you're obviously in Terror here the look on your face but you're reaching out for help and people
wanted to help yes so many people have asked to help look for meline Kingsbury that it allowed law enforcement to
expand their search there's no no guide book 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 [Music] life we're all hopeful she's
[Music] alive but by the end of the weekend there was no sign of Maddie day by day
Megan continued to post updates to Tik Tok it's Tuesday the 25th still no medin now next week is May we're still
in this hell 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 she like trapped somewhere um and you just you don't know
what to do behind the scenes though investigators began taking a harder look at Adam especially after
Maddie's friends came forward with some disturbing stories mateline 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 Patito case fixated the nation in the fall of 2021 the search
for missing 22-year-old Gabby Patito is now a multi-state effort after the young
woman from Long Island was found dead human remains were discovered one month after she seemingly vanished from the
face of the earth I told you need to get out and you need to get it get out now that's not an empty threat
[Music] what do you think of Megan's Tik Tok posts chat now with the 48 Hours team on
Facebook and [Music] [Music] X years before Maddie vanished her sister Megan says the on and off again
relationship Queen Maddie and Adam seemed to be headed for a bad ending 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 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 many
[Music] times madd's Father David said it pained him to to see how shabbily Adam treated
Maddie I think she literally poured out a river of love for him and she got nearly a drop in return
madd's stepmother Kathy says Maddie often called saying Adam was of no help with the children and she'd be just
sobbing miserably that Adam's not helping I hate this but Mattie's family and friends say there was more than just
tearful arguments about 3 years before Maddie went missing Haley says she witnessed Adam slap Maddie during a
video call Haley and Maddie were talking Haley says when Adam appeared in the background and began shouting at Maddie
he yelled I don't understand why this house is such a 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 and in September 20121 some 18
months before Maddie disappeared she told Haley about Adam's dark fascination with the Gabby petito story Adam had
a infatuation and I would call it an obsession with the Gabby petito case Haley says Maddie had told her that one
night after she and Adam watched a news special about the petito murder Adam's Obsession turned
threatening 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 says she tried to get Maddie to do something and I begged her and
begged her please go to the hospital document it yourself do whatever you need to do you need to get this
documented so you can get out of there safely with those kids but Katie says Maddie never
reported anything to the police she was more scared that Adam was going to get arrested she wanted to protect him she
was protecting him Maddie did however tell her father David and stepmother Cathy about the choking incident she was
like horribly afraid she'd been choked and she was very very scared and wanted help Kathy says she and David drove to
Maddie's house and got her and the children out of there she came with us we went to the house so she could get
some of her things and some of the clothing for the kids and whatnot and put the kids in the van and followed
us back to our home in Farmington but Kathy says Maddie stayed in the Kingsbury house only 3 days before
returning to Adam because he was upset that she left I did tell her some point he's
going to kill you you said that to mat yeah you felt there was enough danger that you had to say to your own daughter
I think he may kill you and how did she respond to that statement or did she honestly I mean she became a pro at
minimizing thing and it came back to well he was he was joking he told me he was joking and she wanted to believe
that when Maddy went missing her friends and family reported those in ents to police according to a search warrant
detectives interviewed Adam and asked if he and Maddie had ever had any physical
altercations he said oh no when detectives asked about those Gabby Patito comments police say Adam admitted
them but claimed he was trying to make a joke but according to a search warrant investigators found an old screenshot
Maddie had saved of some texts she'd exchanged with Adam Maddie says 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 replies you'll adjust Maddie says the FI
will detectives wanted to know everything about what Adam did the day Maddie went missing and began collecting
surveillance videos from homes and businesses police say a blue minivan that looked like madd's was videotaped
on Highway 43 the road Adam told police he' taken that morning but according to a search warrant the time stamps do not
match Adam's timeline the cameras track the blue minivan until around noon police say 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
wona according to that warrant there is a 45 minute window that fraval could not
be tracked I mean where was he during those 45 minutes I mean that was a big you know the big question right but with
no direct evidence and no sign of Maddie investigator did not arrest Adam and he
continued to live at his parents' home with the children meanwhile Megan continued her updates on Tik Tok meline
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 Maddie had been
having with another another man an army veteran named Spencer Sullivan I'm Spencer Sullivan and I was dating meline
Kingsbury at the time of her disappearance and now police were interested to know Spencer's whereabouts
the day Maddie went [Music] missing what do you make of the Gabby petito comment from Adam which he
claimed to police was a joke chat now with the 48 Hours team on Facebook and [Music]
X in the spring of 2023 Maddie knew her relationship with Adam was falling apart
and she was brutally honest with her father 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
Maddie had joined Tinder which is where she reconnected with Spencer who she knew from
college 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 prel as it turns out Spencer also knew Adam from Winona State he was in the same frat ET as I
was tell me about the Adam you knew back then he and I didn't really talk all that much Maddie told Spencer that she
and Adam had reached the point of no return Maddie and Spencer began dating but quietly we both kind of agreed to
keep it a secret between us until she was on her own mostly the relationship was a secret from Adam Mattie's family
and girlfriend knew about it and they told police about Spencer when Maddie went missing that's when investigators
called Spencer in for an interview 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 what were you doing on March 31st 2023 uh that
morning I was at work Spencer surrendered his phone while investigators checked out his Alibi as
they looked into his story they also learned from mti's friends and family that only 6 days before she disappeared
she finally had told Adam about Spencer she didn't want to lie and she just it bubbled up inside of her the this guilt
is it true that Maddie told Adam about Spencer yeah that's a pretty gutsy thing to do H we wish she had it all came
pouring out and Megan says MD told Adam she was leaving him and looking for an apartment where she would live with
their children did she tell you how Adam reacted to the news I think she said he
cried and he was really hurt at the time I'm sure he was personally hurt and heartbroken all of a sudden you find out
she has feelings with somebody else and it's over Adam's sister Teresa as well as his brother Ryan say news of the
breakup hurt them as well because Maddie was a cherished member of their extended
family Maddie was a sister to all of us and our hearts are broken uh we lost a close family member they point out that
although Adam and Maddie always had an on and off relationship they stayed together for S years I was completely
shocked when I learned that she was dating Spencer behind my brother's back Manny's best friend Katie says
tensions between mat and Adam were Sky High after her Revelation about Spencer it was the day before she
disappeared she called me crying and she asked if she could come work at our house she said that Adam was
hovering over her while she was working and making comments about some other man
raising his kids and you know are you really going to leave me for another man she felt very threed Maddie left her
house and went to Katie's before ending up at Spencer's home also in Winona she came over to celebrate my
birthday with me she brought a couple donuts that we could split with each other she had a gift for me it was a
little Lego set Little Star Wars Lego set I got a a card from her it was a star wars card that last time you saw
her person to person I remember she's standing on my front steps she turned around and smiled at me
and waved and the last time Aire within days of his interview police confirmed Spencer's Alibi and returned
his phone eventually police say he was clear Matty's friend Haley says Spencer was the best thing to happen to her in a
long time Spencer showed her that she deserves so much more than Adam Spencer says he was devast ated in the wake of
mti's disappearance I thought to myself like that stuff like this doesn't doesn't happen here you know we
were talking about her moving into her new place she wanted me to come over and help her decorate do stuff
and and the next day she's gone he says he couldn't stop thinking about the birthday card Maddie had given
him I think I reread that card at least 100 times that I all I could think was this this kid
sorry 4 days after Maddie vanished her parents were given temporary custody of her children my nie and nephew are no
longer in the custody of their father you know we appreciate the concern for them but um they're they're in good
hands when Matty's friend Lauren Deo thought about Matty's children she recalled a conversation she'd had with
Maddie a month earlier and she reported it to police 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 10 days after Maddie disappeared police
had received a tip that Adam had been seen riding near his parents' home with a shovel in his family's utility vehicle
police seized his vehicle and according to a search warrant kadaver dogs alerted
to Ascent in the vehicle and on the shovel you know it's my understanding that they are trained and specifically
trained to find human human remains 2 Days Later Adam put out a statement through his attorneys it read in part I
have cooperated with law enforcement at every turn I did not have anything to do
with madd's disappearance I want the mother of my 5-year-old and 2-year-old to be found and brought home safely I
want that more than anything Maddie had been missing 35 days when Katie and others gathered to
remember her she was the kindest most beautiful soul even on the brightest days it still feels dark and gloomy
without her here David Kingsbury addressed the crowd inside a local church we know that
meline is around here somewhere she just didn't vanish someone knows something someone
saw something make this your Battle Cry right where's meline where is she make it loud and don't stop until she's
[Music] found go behind the scenes with the 48 Hours postmortem [Music] [Music] podcast for Megan Kings B June 7th 2023
started out like every other day since Maddie disappeared hey Tik Tock good morning
happy Wednesday Maddie still missing please continue to spread the word about my
sister meline but hours later we begin the hour with breaking news out of Southeastern
Minnesota 68 days after Maddie disappeared a sheriff's deputy found human s along this lonely Country Road
and while it hadn't been certified by the medical examiner there were fairly certain that it was my
daughter was on the floor and like scream crying you know what do you say when somebody tells you something like
that there's nothing that you can say for Maddy's best friend Katie the news was shattering her reaction
captured on her video doorbell [Music] camera the very next day Mattie's friends heard the news from Winona's
police chief law enforcement has confirmed the remains are those of meline Kingsbury you can't ever prepare
yourself for one of your children to die much less be found somewhere outside found as she was and she
was wrapped in a gray fitted bed sheet that had black duct tape around the ends and um there was a towel wrapped
around her head Adam fral was arrested and charged with second deegree murder the gray bed
sheet wrapped around Maddie according to the criminal complaint seemed to match a
set found in mti's home and the isolated Road where Matty's remains were found according to that
criminal complaint had been maintained by the fral family at one point this area is also close to the township of
choice where police believe there are 45 minutes unaccounted for in Adam's timeline this area here in this Culvert
is where mti's body was found someone left a little angel here to Mark the Spot mti's autopsy listed her cause of
death as homicidal violence nothing more and in October 2023 Adam was indicted on additional first deegree
murder charges Adam's possible motive for murder in a warrant investigators alleged Adam was in distress due to his
financial dependence on Maddie and was upset about the end of their relationship investigators also learned
that Maddie had a death benefit of $170,000 but had not listed a beneficiary she was his his meal ticket
she was the one who provided for them according to a search warrant when police entered the couple's house they
noticed that surveillance cameras inside the home had been removed and former prosecutor Mary fulin says it's the way
they appeared to have been taken down that caught detectives attention they found that the surveillance cameras that
he had installed have been ripped out that they were no longer there so all of those are indicators of you know he's up
to something in consciousness of guilt he had those down weeks before they were in the process of
moving Adam's sister and brother say at one point before Maddie and Adam broke up the couple was planning to move
together to Adam's parents home we want people to know that there are two sides to the
story take for instance those cadaver dogs alerting to the utility vehicle and and
shovel Adam's Family says that's because on the previous weekend their dad used that shovel to move a dead
raccoon that he used the shovel to pick it up every time we would try to clarify
anything to the investigators we were just treated with that like like we're just delusional I believe
Adam 150% that he is innocent he would never harm Maddie the mother to his children
you know he'd never do such a thing Adam'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 Patito 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 Adam siblings insist
authorities should take a closer look at Spencer Sullivan we're trying to expand uh the
investigator's eyes that something else could easily have happened what do you think of
that 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 there's a presumption of innocence in our legal system of course
that every everybody's entitled to but there's also the Court of Common Sense and then the Court of Common Sense
all roads lead to Adam Fel the Kingsbury family is speaking out now in hopes of saving someone
else 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 this is emotionally very powerful right now for you are you you don't blame yourself for
this do you I think we all blame ourselves to some degree cuz 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 be out her hooks in her and the kids make it
really difficult for mti's father whatever the jury decides there was a larger truth
that haunts him I'll always be the father of a murdered girl Spencer Sullivan told us he too feels
haunted by a conversation he and Maddie had weeks before she vanished she told me that she was in love with me
fortunately I was too chick to say it back but does that bother you every day I saw a future with v
and it felt like somebody just ripped the next 60 years out of my life for Megan who is so close with her
little sister she still can't imagine a future without Maddie 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 how do
you want Maddie to be remembered somebody that mattered I andan 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 [Music] [Music]
a mysterious illness turns fatal followed by a surprising toxicology report the medical examiner found tetrah
hydrosaline in Lin hearn's system how much does her caregiver know AER is the eye drops I didn't give her anything 48
hours Saturday on CBS streaming on Paramount Plus [Music] welcome to postmortem I'm your host
anarie green and today we are talking about Maddie Kingsbury 26-year-old mother of two who disappeared on March
31st 2023 after dropping her kids off at daycare about a week after her disappearance about 2,000 people turned
out to search for Maddie covering a large stretch of Southeastern Minnesota and her sister Megan took to Tik Tok for
help so with me to discuss their reporting on Maddie Kingsbury's case our correspondent Peter vanent and producer
Jordan Kinsey welcome guys hi I'm Marie hey I'm Marie good to be with you again once again this is a fascinating case if
you haven't watched or listened to the episode The Disappearance of Maddie Kingsbury then go do that now it's the
episode just below this one in your podast cast feed to start though Jordan we've uh had a few cases in Minnesota
this season how did you learn about this case yes so how I learned about the case
was that I was covering another trial in Minnesota and a court employee who I became really close with uh mentioned to
me about this case and knowing that the person missing uh was someone she went to college with and of course that blew
my mind uh in that moment and she did say that I also attended college with Maddie's ex-boyfriend and father for two
kids and that we think he might have some type of involvement wow so this is you knew about the story before there
was National coverage yeah yep day one uh it just happened in that moment in the courtroom just on break and there's
friends already texting trying to figure out what's going on so yeah I knew sort
of before it hit the headlines and that's when we reached out to the planning team to find out if we want to
really invest in and try to cover this case and then how do you go about doing that though how do you go about building
those connections because this is a really emotional sensitive time for everyone involved it is it is and it can
be a challenge right because people are going through the emotions at that moment um but I think for me what what
really worked out was that I have already been in Minnesota uh Court employee she connected me with some of
the college friends who I just met with over dinner and we made it we we stayed in contact and then from there they were
able to connect me to additional friends and family the other thing about Jordan
uh for the audience listening to this uh he learned to speak motan which is really important you don't
say and Minnesota nice and Jordan is Minnesota nice and he can really connect with people and so to have him there at
the very beginning was just crucial for us in in putting together this successful hour so Peter to give people
this backdrop this town in particular seems like a prime example of Minnesota nice it seems like a sweet Town it is a
beautiful beautiful town uh on the banks of the Mississippi River it is clear water that flows by and the Bluffs in
the area where Winona is is uh situated the locals talk about their geology with
pride and the town is something out of a Hollywood movie set the famous actress Winona Ryder is from Winona and it has
some sense of celebrity but everyone seems to know everybody there when someone goes missing as as Maddie did
the entire Community mobilized finding Maddie went beyond the work of investigators and it's all because of
Maddie's sister Megan she started posting on Tik Tok and people tuned in absolutely Megan who's an absolute
sweetheart and and loves her sister as deeply as as anyone can she went on Tik Tok because she had watched dozens of
videos from people who were in similar situations that she was in you know a missing loved one and in one of her
first posts she was so panicked and and anxious to to tell people an update that
she appears on camera which you'll see in the show fresh out of the shower just wearing a towel uh she's a remarkably
gen genuine person and she was desperate for any kind of tip uh that could help find Maddie and it was truly
heartbreaking for her she posted nearly every day for 68 days until her sister's
remains uh were found and one of her posts had half a million views and as a result the community mobilized and you
get this situation as you mentioned earlier adory couple of thousand people uh turned out to search I mean I've
never seen anything quite like this and it was all through uh Megan and Tik Tok so was this also therapeutic for Megan
absolutely I've done this now for 20 years on U on 48 hours I still cannot imagine what these families go through
uh the loss and the fear and knowing she's out there somewhere and it was cold and is she alive is she being held
somewhere is she dead and um Megan became the face of that uh for us and uh it's very powerful in this story so
people I mean who knows all over the world were transfixed by this story but even closer to home I mean you spoke to
the mayor and it almost seemed like he was personally offended that anything like this could happen in his town he
was uh Scott Sherman is his name an incredible human being uh he's a mountain biker and so as soon as he
heard about this he got on his mountain bike and went for mile after Mile in those Hills out there looking for her
and he had set up a command center there in downtown uh at the government complex
and what was really an incredible moment is when mti's mother walks into this room he said and and says who are you
and he says I'm the mayor she comes up and gives him this bear hug he said he'll never forget and she wouldn't let
go and he got emotional and he was hugging her back these two total strangers and he says that he was Comm
communicating that he will do anything he can to try to find her because she's a daughter of the community in other
words they were holding each other without speaking and it was very powerful he also shared with us that at
one of the vigils for Maddie uh they showed a video of Maddie singing You Are My Sunshine and he said that he sings
that same song to his daughter every night before bed and so every night he was thinking about Maddie as he would
sing that song So Peter you also spoke with former uh prosecutor and defense attorney Mary fujii who is a consultant
for 48 hours and she said with regards to the police investigating missing person's cases that they know there is a
ticking clock on these things can we talk a little bit more about how crucial it is to gain some Traction in those
first few hours of an investigation it is so crucial when there's a missing person particularly when they suspect
Foul Play in case after case that I have covered police say that the first 12 hours hours are critical sometimes life
or death critical Maddie's friends are frantic they're trying to get a hold of her they're calling they're not getting
a response and eventually they go to the police they want to file a missing person's report let me ask you this is
it a myth that you have to wait 48 Hours like that's what they were told by police when they tried to say she was
missing this happens all the time these are really intelligent people they knew of a history of of alleged abuse in this
relationship and they go to Cops and say we have got a problem here she's disappeared none of us can get a hold of
her and they say Well it hasn't been 24 hours yet I hear that all the time in in
cases usually it is 48 hours because they think well maybe they had a fight she was just emotional she's gone off to
be on her own for a time she'll be back when you're close with someone you know when their movements are out of the
ordinary so madd's friends they text at him and say to him we're really concerned
but his response is not appreciation in fact this is what he said why are you doing this right it's she hasn't even
been gone 24 hours so I was able to connect with madd's best friend Katie Koko and she told us that there was a
text exchange between Adam and her husband which she shared with police and so I just want to read that text
exchange Adam said I talked to the police who or what prompted you guys to go check
at the house I'm so confused she hasn't been gone for a day yet so I'm not freaking out but everyone else is then
Adam responded again so Katie called the police he then said she was leaving for
Farmington in the morning Katie's husband responded Yes she did weird that no one could get a hold of her Adam
responded well wow that's a little out of bounds of Katie it hasn't even been 24 hours and I saw her this morning and
Kate's husband responded with not really when no one has heard from her most of the day apparently no one was able to
reach you either too so at least you've heard from her you can't blame people for being worried man and then Adam said
nobody tried to reach me until 7 p.m. which was Megan so IDK what you mean by that and then Adam said I get being
worried but no one asked me anything so it's like WTF laugh out loud laugh out loud yeah and I think that and that
interaction right there is what sent Haiti you know in a tell spin that's what got her really concerned about Adam
you interviewed Haley Scott one of Maddy's sorority sisters who shared that Adam had a fascination with Gabby
potito's murder for those who might not be familiar with that case Gabby was killed
by her fiance Brian laundry while the couple was on a CrossCountry road trip with this case in particular the judge
released 60 plus search warrants so all these search warrants were unsealed and it detailed Adam told investigators he
was infatuated with gab Patito and that he didn't tell Maddie if she didn't listen up that she would end up like
Gabby Patito and this statement was also detailed in the criminal complaint um so
he admitted to making that statement uh but claimed it was only a joke and you know he also told investigators that
there had never been any physical violence in the relationship and also during the search Adam released a
statement through his attorney which read in part I have cooperated with law enforcement at every turn I did not have
anything to do with madd's disappearance so this is kind of interesting Adam's defense team says that he wasn't read
his Miranda rights for one of the police interviews specifically his second interview for those who might not know
what are um you should know that for your own sake can you explain the Miranda rice and what's the defense
suggesting because I presume that this means that he was read his Miranda rights at some point at least initially
but I guess you got to do it each time well anytime you begin a new interview you have to read rights and we've all
seen this on police TV shows right and I know a lot of the audience listening right now can lipsync this along with me
but the Miranda Rights require police to inform a suspect that that they have the
right to remain silent that what they say can be used against them in court that they have a right to a lawyer and
that the suspect must indicate that they understand what's been said to them by the police officer and the defense
attorney said what may end up being a crucial moment for jurors his fascination with the Gabby petito case
he had not been read his rights so they want that thrown out of any uh trial that's that's coming up we can't say
this enough he's an innocent man Adam frel until proven guilty and his defense team and his brother and sister have
told us we have answers for every issue that you've heard that we've talked about this far and we'll talk about and
they say they are 150% confident in his [Music] innocence as we heard in the hour there
were ations made by Haley Scott that there were physical altercations between Maddie and Adam that this relationship
was Frid it was falling apart Adam had denied this uh Maddy's family said that she never filed any police reports
alleging violence and you really get from the family that they're conflicted about whether or not they should have
pushed her to do something like that according to search warrant and criminal complaint police discovered a screenshot
on madd's phone of his text exchange between Maddie and Adam dated September 21st 2021 and it details an alleged
choking incident that occurred Jordan can you read those text messages to us absolutely so Maddie says to Adam 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 Adam said you'll adjust Maddie responds
the f I will then MD says again you do that again without asking me you can go somewhere else Adam responded you got it
mother and then Maddie said don't patronize me that cross the line you see that she seems to stand up for herself
in these text messages but her friends her family they encourage her to leave Adam she does not leave
I want to play a clip from the hour Peter with you speaking to madd's Father David I did tell her some point he's
going to kill you you said that to mat yeah you felt there was enough danger that you had to say to your own daughter
I think he may kill you and how did she respond to that statement or did she honestly I mean she became a pro at
minimizing thing and it came back to well he was he was joking he told me he was joking and she wanted to believe
that you spoke to her dad this is a woman who was well loved by her family they would
have done anything to help her out to help her get out of that relationship if she wanted to can you talk to me a
little bit about how the dad was feeling I mean what's your take on that well David Kingsbury is a a brilliant man and
a a loving father and he did the best he could over and over again including to have her move in with him for for a
brief time no one imagin that this will actually end up in Murder they just can't believe that's that's that's not
on their radar whatsoever and she kept going back to him which which is not uncommon and um that's that's what
really drove David crazy is he said that she told him too the fact that she had these kids it was just impossible to
leave Adam they were this partnership and it it just ended up in tragedy they tried anarie they tried yeah um as of
now Adam fil's uh trial is expected to start in the fall of 2024 can we talk about the evidence that we might see at
trial Jordan So based off of what we had in the search warrants Adam gave his timeline of what happened that day that
Maddie disappeared now when investigators reviewed surveillance footage uh they noticed that there was a
discrepancy in what Adam mentioned with the times where he was at and they weren't matching you know another
observation when police interviewed Adam in his first interview they noticed scratches along his face and neck and so
we spoke to Adam's sister she said Adam told her that he got those scratches from a friend's dog wait I'm hearing a
little noise in the background what's going on down there yeah there's uh some went happening uh there's a storm that's
hitting Florida at the moment so that's why you hear some rumbling going on now another interesting point is that Adam's
family has a UTV a utility terrain vehicle and so the cadav dogs had alerted to a scent actually on that UTV
and the shovel and also mentioned in the search warrant that cadav dogs are trying to pick up on any human remains
now Adam's Family mentioned that they have a reason for that they claim that the weekend prior their father had used
a shovel to move a dead raccoon I heard that in the hour and I thought there's a
difference between the smell of a body which is what these dogs are trained to pick up on and a wild animal but that's
their that's their response Jordan what other evidence is there the area where madd's body was found was previously
maintained by Adam's family they admit that they did know the area very well this came from a tip by the way that
someone had seen Adam Fravel on this allterrain vehicle driving out in that area and then they take the sniffer dogs
out there and they alert on that vehicle and prosecutors this is all circumstantial will are obviously going
to be suggesting the reason why they alerted on that vehicle was that Matty's body was back there and that this was an
area that Adam fril was familiar with and uh where her body was found again we can't say it strong enough the family
has says they are going to be presenting answers to all this remember the defense
attorneys did not speak with us in this now I know the prosecution doesn't have to present a motive but it certainly
helps when you're arguing a case and there's a motive that was floated which was that Adam was financially dependent
on her and if she was to leave it would pull the rug out from under him financially well she she did everything
and what her friends and family say is that she financially supported the family with her job at the Mayo Clinic
friends claimed that uh Adam did not help with the raising of the children um and that she was very much on her own uh
also this was not much of a loving relationship it was on again off again and as we know she sought another
relationship and she had made the decision that she was going to leave him in the very beginning of the hour uh
when you speak to his sister she says something to the effect of he did the right thing he dropped out of school and
got a job when she became pregnant I got the sense that she felt like there was an unfairness to this he made these
sacrifices for her and now this relationship could be ending and she could be leaving his family will tell
you that was all to support the family all to support her so she could get her degree and that he was being generous
with this he did have a job for a time but when covid hit he lost his job and so they depended completely on her
salary but on on her side of the U of The Ledger uh people say that he just was not much of a provider and not much
of a responsible adult yeah and sort of another really heartbreaking part of this story of the hour is Spencer madd's
new love at the time of the murder they were in a relationship and there's talk about whether she was going going to be
leaving Adam uh to to start a life with Spencer he certainly says that he was starting to think about a life with her
and now all of that potential all of that hope is lost yeah this is an incredibly moving part of of this story
a tragic part Spencer is a military veteran he was very softspoken man big-hearted he was just devastated by
the loss of the woman that he said he wanted to spend the next 60 years of his life with and keep in mind after she
disappeared when you have a what appears to be a love triangle there can be a motive for murder Adams Family says even
today you have to look more closely at Spencer now authorities have said he is no longer a suspect but he was generous
enough to talk to us he talked about the sadness and by the way the day I interviewed Spencer it was his birthday
and exactly one year earlier he'd spent that birthday with Maddie and he has a a
card that he he reads over and over again Spencer uh got very emotional with me when he said the last thing Maddie said
to him was love you um and he just wishes he had said I love you back and he didn't and every day he thinks about
that he's just a devastated man hoping for justice in this case Maddie's father said in uh the Court of Common Sense all
roads lead to Adam rvel what was it like talking to this clearly heartbroken family boy um MADD father said I will
always be the father of a murdered girl and um that pain you could just you could see it you could hear it and it e
it will echo in his life uh for the rest of his days we keep going back to Adam frel was innocent until proven guilty
and that's where we stand and we need to hear where all the evidence has been uh
presented it is intriguing though after they found madd's body the charges were elevated against Adam fro from second
deegree murder to First deegree murder why is that we don't know yet but to have the charge elevated to first degree
murder they have something new right um Mattie's family they just so desperately
want uh not only Justice for their daughter but to prevent this kind of domestic violence from from taking
someone else right now is a Facebook page called finding meline Kingsbury it has
28,000 followers and it's a good source to see what's happening in this case you
know you bring up something I thought there is going to be one family out there who's going to hear this story and
pick up the phone and say no I insist you leave absolutely uh they will save lives for sure I want to thank you Peter
and Jordan once again for joining me on the podcast thanks am thank you thanks Amry I appreciate
it so listen join us next Tuesday for another postmortem and watch 48 hours on Saturdays 109 Central on CBS and
streaming on Paramount plus and if you are liking the show please rate and review 48 Hours on Apple podcast and
follow 48 Hours wherever you get your podcast you can also listen at free on the Amazon music and wry app or with a
48 Hours Plus subscription on Apple podcast [Music]

A young Minnesota mother goes missing and her sister turns to TikTok for help.

Watch "The Disappearance of Maddi Kingsbury" and then go behind the scenes with "48 Hours" correspondent Peter Van Sant and producer Jordan Kinsey on "Post Mortem" as they discuss how TikTok mobilized a Minnesota community to find Maddi Kingsbury, a missing mother of two. The team discusses how they were on the case from day one and the evidence that might be presented at Adam Fravel’s upcoming trial.

00:01 The Disappearance of Maddi Kingsbury 42:00 Listen to a post-mortem on the episode

Listen to "Post Mortem" wherever you get your podcasts: https://link.chtbl.com/geyayVJ6?sid=YT

Crime. Social justice. Impact. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

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Brief Summary

Maddie Kingsbury, a mother of two, vanished in 2023; her remains were found, leading to Adam Fral's arrest for murder amid domestic violence concerns.

Key points

Community Efforts. The community rallies to search for Maddie, with hundreds joining the effort.
Maddie's Disappearance. Maddie Kingsbury, a young mother, goes missing after dropping her children at daycare.
TikTok Appeal. Maddie's sister uses TikTok to raise awareness and seek help.
Police Investigation. Investigators begin to scrutinize Adam, Maddie's partner, after her disappearance.
Maddie's Relationship. Maddie had been dating another man, Spencer, before her disappearance.
Maddie's Disappearance. Maddie Kingsbury, a mother of two, vanished on March 31, 2023, after dropping her kids off at daycare.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

This has gone on too long, we want to bring her home.

A desperate call for action from Maddie's family.

3:45WatchSep 13, 2024

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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