The sister of missing Minnesota mom-of-two Madeline Kingsbury revealed the two were laughing about a “goofy” photo over text just hours before her sibling uncharacteristically stopped replying.
Kingsbury’s older sister Megan told Fox News she was texting her sister when Kingsbury’s phone went dark last week.
“I talk to her multiple times on a daily basis — FaceTime, phone, text,” said Megan, donning a sweatshirt with her missing sister’s face and information stitched on.
“Even the rest of my family. She’s just in constant communication with us about every minute detail. So it’s very unlike her.”
Nothing about Kingsbury’s final texts stood out in any way, Megan said.
The sisters were laughing about a “goofy” photo they had shared in their text thread early March 31 morning, just a few hours before Kingsbury was reported missing.
The exchange ended at 8:15 a.m. with a text from Kingsbury — shortly after she was in public for the last time.
The message was the last communication she would have with any friends or family, Megan said, which the sister found odd because the two had tentative plans to meet the following day, but had yet to flesh out the details.
Megan’s fears were confirmed later that evening when their mother reached out to Megan with concerns that her numerous messages to Kingsbury went unanswered.
“And when she said that, I was kind of like, “Oh, I guess I guess you’re right,'” Megan recounted.
“So it was that evening and we started kind of connecting with her friends and seeing if anyone had heard from her.”
The 26-year-old Kingsbury was last seen March 31 when she dropped off her two kids, ages 5 and 2, at their daycare in Winona with their father, police said.
Kingsbury, a clinical research coordinator at the Mayo Clinic, went back to her home about 8:15 a.m. — the same time she sent her final text — but never showed up for work.
The children’s father, who has not been named, told cops he left the home around 10 a.m. and returned later to find it empty.
Police found her wallet, cellphone and ID, as well as the jacket she wore that day, inside the house.
“Based on all of this, we believe Maddie’s disappearance is involuntary, suspicious and we are all concerned for her safety,” he said.
More than 2,500 civilians turned out to search for Kingsbury Friday and Saturday until cops called off the search.
Officers said the massive effort covered extensive ground at an exceptional pace, and detectives are working to conduct more targeted searches.
“There’s been divers looking in the waters, people scouring the plains and trucking through the woods, law enforcement on ATVs and horses,” Megan said.