It’s been six months since Madalina Cojocari, then 11 years old, disappeared from Cornelius, North Carolina.

More than three weeks passed from when Madalina was last seen on Nov. 21 and when her mother reported her missing, according to police. Police, with help from the State Bureau of Investigation and the FBI, continue to search for the girl.

What You Need To Know

  •  Twelve-year-old Madalina Cojocari has not been seen since Nov. 21, when video showed her getting off a school bus near her family home in Cornelius, North Carolina

  •  Her parents did not report her missing until about three weeks after she was last seen

  •  Madalina's mother and step-father have been held in jail since Dec. 27 on charges of failure to report the disappearance of a child

  • The search for Madalina continues, with the Cornelius Police Department, the FBI and the SBI involved in the investigation

Madalina’s mother, Diana Cojocari, 38, and step-father, Christopher Palmiter, 60, have been jailed since Dec. 17 on charges of failing to report the disappearance of a child. There has been no indication that Madalina’s parents have cooperated with police in the search.

“It has been six months since Madalina was last seen getting off her school bus on 11/21/22. Madalina should be getting ready to enjoy the warm summer months of being at the beach and swimming,” the Cornelius Police Department said on Twitter Sunday.

The department shared a video compilation of Madalina playing on the beach and in a pool. Her 12th birthday was on April 11.

“Please call Detectives at 704-892-7773 with any info that will help us to #FindMadalina,” police tweeted.

Investigators have released little information in recent months, but say the search continues for Madalina.

What we know

Police have been fairly tight-lipped about the search for Madalina, saying they did not want to hurt the investigation. But some information has been made public in search warrants and other court filings.

The search has taken investigators across state lines, found connections with drug smugglers and raised numerous questions about what was happening at the home in a downtown Cornelius subdivision.

Madalina’s mother reported the girl missing Dec. 15, telling school officials she had not seen her daughter since Nov. 23.

The mother went to the school after a guidance counselor went to the family home to ask why Madalina had not been in class for weeks. No one answered the door for the guidance counselor, but Diana Cojocari went to the school three days later and reported Madalina missing.

Search warrants released in March show Diana Cojocari asked a relative to get her and her daughter away from Palmiter. The mother and daughter are from Moldova, in eastern Europe.

Madalina Cojocari has not been seen since she got off a school bus Nov. 21. The missing girl from Cornelius, North Carolina, turned 12 in April. (Cornelius Police Department)

In a February search of Diana Cojocari’s car, investigators found three passports: one from Romania for the mother and Romanian and Moldovan passports for Madalina, according to a search warrant.

There were also education and work documents in the car, the warrant states.

The records show police talked to a relative, who said, “Diana Cojocari and her mother asked him if he would assist Diana with ‘smuggling’ her and Madalina Cojocari away from the residence,” according to a warrant.

The man “stated that she told him she was in a bad relationship with co-defendant, Christopher Palmiter, and wanted a divorce,” the warrant said.

Diana Cojocari had a long phone call with the same relative Dec. 2. That was after Madalina was last seen but before she was reported missing.

“In reviewing this subject’s phone records, there was multiple calls to phone numbers belonging to unidentified targets involved in ongoing T3 drug/narcotic trafficking investigations,” the warrant states.

“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 wrote in an affidavit.

The mother said she looked in on Madalina at about 11:30 a.m. Nov. 24, but the girl was not in her bedroom, according to police. Clothes and a backpack were missing from her room, police said.

Diana Cojocari said she waited for her husband to return from Michigan Nov. 26 before asking if he knew where Madalina was.

“Christopher Palmiter did not and asked the same question in return,” police said.

“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.

Investigators said Diana Cojocari told them her family in Moldova told her to call police, but she did not. The warrants say Palmiter told officers her had not seen Madalina for a week before he went to Michigan in late November.

Court records show the next court date for Palmiter and Diana Cojocari is set for Aug. 17.

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