WINONA, Minn. – Police have questions but few answers on what happened to Maddi Kingsbury between 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. the day she disappeared. From her finance, Adam Fravel, police say they were told this much this much:
> The couple returned home from leaving their children at daycare about 8:15.
> Fravel left Maddi about 10 and drove off in her dark blue minivan.
> Fravel returned home in the minivan about 1:30 – 2-1/2 hours later – and Maddi was not home.
Fravel was the last person known to have seen Maddi. So what happened in those intervening 2-1/2 hours? Police have found no evidence that Maddi left the house. They don’t think she went for work as scheduled 40 miles away at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. If she did, she never arrived. In fact, they suspect she didn’t leave the house at all. It was a chilly morning, Her jacket, which she had worn in taking the kids to daycare, was where apparently she had had taken it off when she and Fravel returned about 8:15. With the jacket were her keys and wallet. There were no signs that she had left even for a brief walk. Such would seem unlikely, considering she would have been running tight on time for the commute to Rochester.
Spokesprson. Bonney Bowman welcomes reporters and introduces Police Chief Tom Williams for a news conference on the Maddi Kingsbury disappearance. To Bowman’s left, Williams waits with a prepared statement. Bowman is a former news anchor at KBJR in Duluth. She’s a broadcast journalism graduate form the University of Missouri.
Cutting a news conference short
Winona police have leaned heavily on the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for news media relations. Bonney Bowman of the BCA investigations unit has been acting as public information for the investigation because the 40-officer Winona department didn’t have a full-time media liaison agent. She handled logistics for the two news conferences conducted by Police Chief Tom Williams. At the second conference Bowman intervened and ended the session at 9 minutes and 53 seconds after reporters were pressing Chief Williams about the 2-1/2 hour gap. The reporter questions:
> “Can you expand at all on Maddi’s partner’s whereabouts during those two hours and whether he has been cooperating?” Williams: “I cannot comment.”
> “When the van was seen, do you. know whether (Fravel) got out of the van at this point or whether he was driving?” Williams: “It’s an open and active investigation.”
> “Has (Fravel) been involved in the search” Williams: “I’m not going to comment on that.”
> “Do you have a message for any suspect or person of interest?” Williams: “We don’t have a suspect or a person of interest.”
After ending the news conference, Bowman told reporters that no more daily briefings were planned. She said the investigation has kept officers busy. “We don’t want to take their time by doing daily updates.” She invited reporters to contact her if they have questions.