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Minnesota Officials Bring Top Prosecutor out of Retirement To Help in Madeline Kingsbury's Missing Persons Case
The Winona County Attorney's Office has brought highly respected local prosecutor Phil Prokopowicz out of retirement to consult in their ongoing search for missing Minnesota mom Madeline Kingsbury, whose disappearance has been characterized as "suspicious" and "involuntary" by police.
As the search for Minnesota mom Madeline Kingsbury is about to enter its eighth week, investigators say they've pulled a highly respected prosecutor out of retirement to help.
The 26-year-old was last seen dropping her kids off at daycare around 8 a.m. on March 31, and sent her last communication to her sister around 8:15 a.m. that day. Winona County Police Chief Tom Williams has characterized the disappearance as "suspicious" and "involuntary."
Since then, law enforcement has conducted dozens of searchess and more than 1,000 volunteers have scoured over 120,000 acres near Kingsbury's home by the Mississippi River and found no trace of the missing woman.
Phil Prokopowicz, formerly the chief deputy attorney in Dakota County, Minnesota, is consulting the nearby Winona County Attorney's Office on the matter, and will assist if charges are brought against anyone in the case. Minnesota Department of Public Safety Spokesman Bonne Bowman told Fox News Digital that he is "arguably one of the best in the business."
"The Winona County Attorney’s Office has brought on Mr. Prokopowicz in a consulting capacity, as they often do for cases that are potentially complex," Bowman told the outlet via email.
Kingsbury had planned to move out of the home she shared with the father of her children, Adam Fravel, with whom she was embroiled in a custody battle, according to her sister. Fravel was the last person to see her alive. He denies any knowledge of Kingsbury's whereabouts.
In an interview with KTTC on Saturday, the missing woman's sister, Megan Kingsbury, confirmed Prokopowicz's involvement in her sibling's case.
“We don’t have a ton of details right now as far as what specifically he is looking into as the immediate concern is the custody trial," she told the outlet.
RELATED: Questions Swirl As Police Hunt For Clues In ‘Suspicious’ Disappearance Of Minnesota Mom
In a TikTok video posted over the weekend, Megan shared photos of her missing sister that "really hit [her] in the feels," adding that her family "just [wants] to find her and find out what happened to her."
"How is she still missing? Like, how," she lamented. “I just don’t understand. Somebody has to know something about what happened to her and where she is. She didn’t just walk away."
Currently, Kingsbury's children are staying with the missing woman's father, but they are officially in the custody of Winona County officials, according to the New York Post. Fravel is seeking custody of the children, but at a previous court hearing, lawyers addressed "the elephant in the room" that Fravel was the last person to see Kingsbury alive, according to Fox News.
Another custody hearing is scheduled for June 6, according to the Post.
“While law enforcement has stated they do not have any suspects at this time, we know Mr. Fravel was the last person to see Ms. Kingsbury,” the Kingsbury family’s lawyer argued in a May 5 letter obtained by Fox. “Ms. Kingsbury’s family have significant concerns based upon their knowledge of Ms. Kingsbury and Mr. Fravel’s relationship that Mr. Fravel knows more about Ms. Kingsbury’s disappearance than he is letting on."
Previously, Kingsbury's sister Megan told Fox News that Fravel and his family would not communicate with them regarding Madeline's disappearance. But in an April statement, Fravel expressly denied any further knowledge.
“Over the course of the last 12 days my family and I have been subject to a myriad of accusations regarding the disappearance of the mother of my children,” Fravel said at the time.
