Overview

Last Seen: July 29, 2005 — La Crosse, Wisconsin

Age When Missing: 15

Circumstances: Madeline reportedly left a laundromat near St. James and Caledonia streets to return to her nearby home while her mother stayed to finish the laundry. When her mother returned home, Madeline was gone.

Original Theory: Madeline was classified by some agencies as an endangered runaway, and relatives reportedly believed she may have left voluntarily.

Other Possibilities Investigated: Published case information has indicated that authorities have considered foul play and human trafficking among the possibilities.

Current Status: Missing. The La Crosse Police Department stated on July 29, 2025, that it continues to investigate Madeline’s disappearance, actively follows leads and believes someone in the community may have relevant information.

Public Assistance: Anyone with information should contact the La Crosse Police Department or La Crosse Area Crime Stoppers. Anonymous tips are accepted.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Madeline Kelly Edman: Missing From La Crosse, Wisconsin Since 2005

Madeline Kelly Edman was 15 years old when she disappeared from La Crosse, Wisconsin, on July 29, 2005. More than two decades later, she remains missing, and the La Crosse Police Department continues to actively investigate what happened to her.

Madeline was born April 27, 1990. At the time she disappeared, she was approximately 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighed about 100 pounds. She has brown hair and heterochromia: her left eye is brown and her right eye is blue. Records also describe scars or marks and several distinctive tattoos, including the letters “TC” on her right ankle, a heart on her left hip and a cross on her right arm.

What Happened to Madeline Edman?

On July 29, 2005, Madeline and her mother reportedly went to a laundromat near St. James and Caledonia streets on the north side of La Crosse. According to published accounts, their home was nearby.

Madeline reportedly left the laundromat before her mother, intending to return home while her mother remained behind to finish the laundry. When her mother later returned home, Madeline was not there.

Madeline did not return, and there has been no confirmed public account establishing where she went after leaving the area.

Initially Considered a Runaway

Madeline’s case has historically been classified by some agencies as an endangered runaway. The Wisconsin Clearinghouse for Missing & Exploited Children & Adults continues to display an “Endangered Runaway” classification.

The runaway designation, however, does not explain what ultimately happened to her.

Published case summaries have reported that members of Madeline’s family believed she may have left voluntarily. Her mother died in 2010, and her obituary reportedly listed Madeline as a surviving daughter.

In 2013, Madeline’s grandmother reportedly said she believed Madeline was alive and estranged from the family and that people had claimed to have seen her around La Crosse. Those reported sightings have not resulted in a publicly confirmed location for Madeline.

Concerns About Foul Play or Human Trafficking

As the years passed without confirmed contact, investigators considered possibilities beyond the original runaway theory.

Published case information has stated that authorities considered the possibility that Madeline became a victim of human trafficking or foul play. Those possibilities should not be interpreted as a determination that either occurred; Madeline remains a missing person and no publicly identified person has been charged in connection with her disappearance.

The absence of a publicly confirmed sighting or contact over such a long period has kept questions surrounding her disappearance unresolved.

Identifying Features

Madeline was described as biracial, Hispanic and White. She had brown hair and distinctive eyes: her left eye was brown and her right eye was blue.

Authorities list multiple tattoos that could be important for identification: a cross on her right arm, a heart on her left hip and the letters “TC” on her right ankle. Official Wisconsin and NCMEC records also note a scar on her leg, although some older secondary case summaries describe the scar more specifically as being on her right thigh. She also has a mark below her navel.

Madeline may use the surname Acevedo, according to published missing-person information.

An age-progressed image depicting how Madeline might have appeared at approximately age 23 was released as part of efforts to locate her.

Latest Investigation Update

On July 29, 2025 — exactly 20 years after Madeline disappeared — the La Crosse Police Department issued a new public appeal.

Police confirmed that Madeline’s disappearance remains under investigation and said investigators were actively following up on leads. The department also expressed its belief that someone in the community may possess information about her disappearance.

Rather than announcing a resolution or a newly identified suspect, police used the anniversary to renew their request for information from the public.

Investigator Andy Rosenow was identified as the investigator to contact with information about Madeline’s case. Police also provided the La Crosse Area Crime Stoppers tip line for people wishing to provide information anonymously.

As of the latest official information located for this article, Madeline remains listed as missing. The Wisconsin Clearinghouse continues to carry her case, and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children continues to maintain an active missing-child poster for her.

Why Madeline Edman’s Case Remains Unsolved

One of the central difficulties in Madeline’s case is the limited publicly known information concerning the period immediately after she reportedly left the laundromat.

There have been competing possibilities over the years: that she left voluntarily and remained away from her family, that she encountered someone after leaving, or that she became the victim of a crime or exploitation.

None of those possibilities has been publicly established as the definitive explanation for her disappearance.

The most significant recent development is therefore not a newly announced suspect or discovery, but confirmation from La Crosse police that the investigation remains active 20 years later and that detectives continue to pursue information.

Very Brief Case Summary

Last Seen: July 29, 2005 — La Crosse, Wisconsin

Age When Missing: 15

Circumstances: Madeline reportedly left a laundromat near St. James and Caledonia streets to return to her nearby home while her mother stayed to finish the laundry. When her mother returned home, Madeline was gone.

Original Theory: Madeline was classified by some agencies as an endangered runaway, and relatives reportedly believed she may have left voluntarily.

Other Possibilities Investigated: Published case information has indicated that authorities have considered foul play and human trafficking among the possibilities.

Current Status: Missing. The La Crosse Police Department stated on July 29, 2025, that it continues to investigate Madeline’s disappearance, actively follows leads and believes someone in the community may have relevant information.

Public Assistance: Anyone with information should contact the La Crosse Police Department or La Crosse Area Crime Stoppers. Anonymous tips are accepted.