Madalina Cojocari update: What to know about missing girl from Cornelius, NC
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Where is Madalina Cojocari?
Madalina Cojocari was 11 years old when she went missing in Cornelius, N.C. in November 2022. But her mother and stepfather did not report her missing for about three weeks and have been charged with failing to report the disappearance of a minor. Meanwhile, as of May 2024, Madalina remains missing.
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Madalina Cojocari, an 11-year-old girl from Cornelius, remains missing as of Wednesday morning.
Cojocari was last seen Nov. 23, police have said, but she wasn’t reported missing by her parents until Dec. 15. Her mother, Diana Cojocari, and stepfather, Christopher Palmiter, have both been charged with failure to report the disappearance of a child to law enforcement.
The search for Madalina involves local authorities and the FBI and has drawn public attention, with the #FindMadalina hashtag trending on social media and a vigil held in Cornelius Tuesday night.
Here’s what to know about Madalina Cojocari’s disappearance and the search to find her:
How long has Madalina Cojocari been missing?
Madalina Cojocari’s mother, Diana Cojocari, told police she last saw her daughter the night of Nov. 23, according to an arrest report obtained by The Charlotte Observer.
The next morning, Diana Cojocari reported to police, she went to Madalina’s room to find her missing.
On Tuesday, local police and the FBI released footage of Madalina getting off her school bus on the afternoon of Nov. 21. That’s the last time police have been able to independently confirm she was seen, they said.
“We are seeking additional witnesses outside of the family to narrow down the exact timeline of when she disappeared,” Cornelius Police said in a news release.
When was Madalina Cojocari reported missing?
The school resource officer and 6th-grade school counselor from Madalina’s school, Bailey Middle, went to the Cojocari residence on Dec. 12 in response to Madalina missing school, according to the arrest report obtained by the Observer.
“There was no answer at the door, and a truancy packet was left” by the counselor, according to the report.
Diana Cojocari called the school counselor on Dec. 14 about the truancy packet, the report says, and said she would come in to meet with Madalina.
She then came to the school on Dec. 15 without Madalina and reported her daughter missing.
“I asked Diana why she did not report Madalina missing until now,” Bailey Middle School Resource Officer J. Nobles said in the arrest report. “Diana stated she was worried it might start a ‘conflict’ between her” and her husband, Christopher Palmiter.
Madalina Cojocari’s parents arrested
Diana Cojocari, 37, and Christopher Palmiter, 60, have both been arrested and charged with failure to report the disappearance of a child to law enforcement.
North Carolina law says it is a Class I felony for “a parent or any other person providing care to or supervision” to someone younger than 16 years old to “knowingly or wantonly fail to report the disappearance of a child to law enforcement.”
The law defines the “disappearance of a child” as “when the parent or other person providing supervision of a child does not know the location of the child and has not had contact with the child for a 24-hour period.”
Both have already made court appearances.
Cojocari’s bond was set at $250,000 at her initial appearance on Tuesday, and a judge ruled that if she makes bond she will be required to wear an electronic monitoring device.
Palmiter’s bond was raised from $100,000 to $200,000 on Monday.
Why wasn’t Madalina Cojocari reported missing sooner?
In additional police records, Diana Cojocari is said to have told police she didn’t initially tell anyone her daughter was missing because she was afraid of “conflict” with her husband.
The couple fought the night Madalina was last seen, the records say, and Palmiter left for Michigan the morning Diana Cojocari says she first noticed her daughter was missing.
Police records say they discussed with each other “several” times Madalina being missing but didn’t alert law enforcement and “were adamant that they did not know where Madalina could be.”
Diana Cojocari also told family in the country she’s from originally, Moldova, she didn’t know where her daughter was, records says. They urged her to report the disappearance, but she did not.
Where police are searching for Madalina Cojocari
Police, the State Bureau of Investigation and the FBI are searching for Madalina.
That includes a search Monday of Lake Cornelius.
“As part of the normal investigative process, we are expanding our search to include Lake Cornelius as a precautionary measure. There’s nothing we won’t do to #findMadalina,” CPD posted on Facebook Monday.
Search boats and fire officials were on the lake Monday morning, near Interstate 77 and adjacent to Lake Norman. The lakefront is about 2 miles from Cojocari home.
Crews were seen digging up the backyard of the family home over the weekend, WCCB in Charlotte reported.
How to help find Madalina Cojocari
Authorities have asked the community to remain vigilant as they search for Madalina.
She was last seen wearing jeans, pink, purple and white Adidas shoes, and a white T-shirt and jacket. She is 4 feet, 10 inches tall, has dark brown hair and weighs about 90 pounds.
Anyone with information on Madalina’s whereabouts is asked to call the Cornelius Police Department at 704-892-7773 or the FBI at 1-800-CALL FBI. Anyone who wishes to remain anonymous can call North Mecklenburg Crime Stoppers at 704-896-7867.
Police have also asked the community to print out and post the missing persons poster for Madalina, which can be found at fbi.gov/wanted/kidnap/madalina-cojocari.
This is a developing story. Check back for more details.
Observer reporters Kallie Cox and Evan Moore contributed previous reporting to this story.
This story was originally published December 21, 2022 at 12:31 PM with the headline "Madalina Cojocari update: What to know about missing girl from Cornelius, NC."
