Adam Fravel charged with murder in Madeline Kingsbury death

Left: Missing mother of two, Madeline Kingsbury (Winona Police Department). Right: Adam Fravel appears in a mugshot (Winona County Sheriff's Office).

The father of a missing Minnesota mother's two children is facing murder charges after a police investigation into her disappearance led to the missing woman's remains.

Madeline Jane Kingsbury's family has confirmed that the body found in brush near an area highway was indeed hers in a statement to Rochester, Minnesota-based NBC and CW Plus affiliate KTTC.

"We’re relieved that Madeline has been found after months of intensive searching and grateful for the extraordinary efforts by law enforcement, other first responders and volunteers," she said. "We’re certain that the correct person has been arrested, will be appropriately charged, and convicted of his crimes. Things are moving in the right direction there and we look forward to getting justice for Madeline. For right now we will mourn as a family and properly and respectfully lay her to rest."

Kingsbury, 26, is believed to have disappeared at around 8 a.m. on March 31 after dropping her children off at daycare with Adam Taylor Fravel, the children's father. She hadn't been heard from since.

On Wednesday, Fravel, 29, was arrested and charged with one count of murder in the second degree, according to jail records reviewed by Law&Crime. He is being held at the Winona County Detention Center pending his first court appearance and is accused of committing murder with intent but without premeditation.

Ominously, at around the same time Fravel was arrested, police revealed that a body connected to the investigation into Kingsbury's disappearance had been found.

Madeline Kingsbury's sister, Megan Kingsbury, previously told Law&Crime that it was highly unusual for Madeline Kingsbury to lose contact – especially considering the circumstances of her life at that time.

"She was looking for a new place to live," Megan Kingsbury said on the "Sidebar" podcast in late April. "So she had plans and things that she wanted to do in the future. So she wouldn't have just left."

Megan Kingsbury also previously said that Fravel and her sister were no longer in a romantic relationship and that the plan was to co-parent their children. Fravel had not initially been named as a person of interest.

"A Fillmore County deputy found human remains on Wednesday afternoon north of Mabel, Minnesota," the Winona Police Department said on Facebook exactly one minute after Fravel was booked into jail.

"The body was found in some brush off Highway 43 and was located using information generated during the Madeline Kingsbury investigation," the WPD statement continues. "Because of this, law enforcement personnel have arrested Adam Fravel on probable cause in connection to her disappearance."

A press conference on the discovery is currently slated for 1:00 p.m. Central Standard Time on Thursday, according to the WPD.

Winona Police Chief Tom Williams said during an April 5 press conference that Madeline Kingsbury's disappearance was "very unlike her," likely "involuntary," and "suspicious." He added that police were "concerned for her safety."

Fravel, for his part, has denied any involvement.

"During these last 12 days I have cooperated with law enforcement at every turn, including sitting down for multiple interviews with Winona County law enforcement," the defendant said in a statement issued to CBS News by way of his attorney two weeks after Madeline Kingsbury went missing. "I did not have anything to do with Maddi'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."

The former couple's children are currently in the custody of county social services. In April, a judge declined to grant Fravel custody.

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