CORNELIUS, N.C. — Investigators were back at the home of Madalina Cojocari Tuesday, according to the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office. The 11-year-old girl has not been seen for almost three months. Her mother and step-father remain in jail on charges of failing to report a missing child.
The FBI, the State Bureau of Investigation and the Cornelius Police Department have been searching for the girl since she was reported missing Dec. 15. But more than three weeks had already passed since Madalina was last seen Nov. 21 and when her mother told police the girl was missing.
“It has been 85 days since Madalina was last seen getting off her school bus on November 21, 2022. It has been 61 days since Cornelius PD learned on December 15, 2022, Madalina was missing,” Cornelius police said this week on social media.
Cornelius Police Chief David Baucom declined an interview this week, explaining that he did not want to hurt the investigation.
Madalina’s mother, Diana Cojocari, 37, and stepfather Christopher Palmiter, 60, were arrested Dec. 17 and remain in the Mecklenburg County jail. A judge set bond for Diana Cojocari at $250,000 and $200,000 for Palmiter.
They’ve been charged with failure to report the disappearance of a child, a felony. But it appears they have not helped investigators figure out what happened to Madalina. The next court date for the pair is set for March 2.
Madalina lived with her mother and stepfather in a house not far from downtown Cornelius, a quaint and picturesque line of shops. City hall and the police department are just a half mile from the home.
Missing person signs, with pictures of Madalina and a short description of the case and what she was last seen wearing, stand outside the police headquarters.
“If you have any information concerning the whereabouts of Madalina Cojocari, please contact the Cornelius Police Department,” the signs say.
Diana Cojocari went to her daughter’s school Dec. 15 after officials went to their house because Madalina had not been seen in school since Nov. 21. That’s when she told a school resource officer her daughter was missing.
Search warrants in the case released earlier this year give more details about what investigators know.
“Due to the circumstances surrounding the absence of Madalina Cojocari, and the 3 week delayed reporting Madalina missing, I believe there is probable cause for a search warrant to be served at the residence to locate further evidence,” investigators wrote in the application for a search warrant.
“Diana Cojocari said she and her husband, Christopher Palmiter, argued that night and the next morning he drove to his family’s house in Michigan to recover some items,” investigators said, referring to Nov. 23, when Diana Cojocari said was the last time she saw her daughter.
Investigators said the mother said she went to check on Madalina at about 11:30 a.m. the next day, but she was not in her bedroom. A backpack and some clothes were missing from Madalina’s room, according to the affidavit.
Diana Cojocari told investigators that she waited until Palmiter returned on Nov. 26 to ask if he knew where Madalina was. “Christopher Palmiter did not and asked the same question in return,” according to police.
“Detectives asked Diana Cojocari why she waited to report Madalina missing, and she stated that she was worried it might start a ‘conflict’ between her and Christopher Palmiter,” the affidavit states.
The mother told police she talked to her family in Maldova and they told her to call the police, but she did not, the search warrants state.
Madalina’s stepfather told police he had not seen the girl for a week before he left for Michigan, according to the warrants.
The police seized two cell phones in the search and investigators asked a judge for permission to get location data, call records, messages and other information from the phones. The warrants said investigators searched the home but a list of what they seized was redacted.
Investigators were back at the house this week as they continue working to figure out what happened to Madalina Cojocari.
Police ask that anyone with firsthand information about the case get in touch with the Cornelius Police Department or the FBI.