New records unsealed in search for Madalina Cojocari, missing from North Carolina
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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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Partially-redacted search warrants from the search for missing 11-year-old Madalina Cojocari were released to the public on Tuesday.
Madalina, from Cornelius, was last seen sometime between Nov. 21 and Nov. 23, according to previous information released by police. Her mother Diana Cojocari and stepfather Christopher Palmiter have been charged with failing to immediately report her disappearance.
The search warrants were previously sealed by a judge who said the release could interfere with investigator’s search for the missing girl. Under public records law, search and arrest warrants are generally considered public records.
Now, redacted search warrants dating back to Dec. 16 detailing the investigation have been released, as was first reported by WBTV, which petitioned the court and judge to make the records public.
The documents show that investigators seized T-Mobile call data, emails, credit card and banking history information, and more from Madalina Cojocari’s mother and stepfather.
One of the search warrants, obtained through the courts by The Charlotte Observer Tuesday, says police are investigating the case as both kidnapping and a missing person.
Multiple law enforcement agencies, spurred by Cornelius Police Department, have been searching for Madalina since Dec. 15.
Her mother and stepfather waited until Dec. 15 to report her missing — and only after a school resource officer and counselor went to the family’s home, the Observer previously reported.
Two days later, Cojocari, 37, and Palmiter, 60, were charged.
What’s in the documents?
Police were authorized to search the Cojocari home on Victoria Bay in Cornelius for anything that could be associated with Madalina’s disappearance. This included possible receipts, tickets, notes, criminal contraband, clothing fibers, and DNA including blood and other bodily fluids.
Large portions of the search warrants are redacted and investigators’ findings are unclear.
However it is clear that police were authorized to swab the house, vehicles, and anything on the property for evidence of a potential crime.
One search warrant specifically allowed officers to search for anything related to Madalina herself, and detectives scoured the house for documentation of her identity, any electronic communication she might have had access to, her clothing, and samples of her DNA.
One of the warrants states three iPhones were seized from the house. Diana Cojocari previously told investigators Madalina does not have a phone.
Police obtained warrants for data from cell towers to allow them to piece together the whereabouts of Palmiter and Cojocari before, during, and after Madalina’s diaspearance from Nov. 1 to Dec. 16.
Just four days ago, Cornelius Police asked anyone who may have witnessed Diana Cojocari or her vehicle in Madison County between Nov. 22 and Dec. 15 to come forward.
Police last independently confirmed Madalina’s whereabouts on Nov. 21 when surveillance footage showed her exiting her school bus.
Case of Madalina Cojocari
In court and police records obtained by The Charlotte Observer, officials provide details about the puzzling explanations Madalina’s parents gave about when she went missing and why they didn’t report it.
These arrest records show that on the night of Nov. 23, when her mother claims Madalina disappeared, her parents were fighting. Her mother told investigators she believed her husband, Madalina’s step father, put their family in danger. She also told police she did not report her daughter missing sooner because she feared “conflict” with him.
It is unclear whether or not Madalina disappeared on Nov. 23, or if it happened earlier. CMS officials say her last day of school was Nov. 22, but later 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.
Days after a police investigation was opened, authorities searched Lake Cornelius as a “precaution” but did not report finding her or any clues.
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.
Madalina’s extended family shared a handwritten letter, dated Dec. 22, with the Cornelius Police Department and FBI pleading with the public for help finding her. Authorities have not said who wrote the letter.
The family wrote that they are shocked by the circumstances surrounding Madalina’s disappearance.
This story was originally published January 10, 2023 at 12:04 PM with the headline "New records unsealed in search for Madalina Cojocari, missing from North Carolina."
