CORNELIUS, N.C. — On Dec. 15, 2022, then-11-year-old Madalina Cojocari was reported missing.
Madalina had not been seen publicly since the evening of Nov. 21, 2022, when she was leaving her school bus in Cornelius, North Carolina.
Photos of Madalina on banners and missing persons, posters remain outside of the Cornelius police department as a reminder that the young girl is still missing. The Police Chief David Baucom says they’re not giving up on finding Madalina.
“It’s touched us because she is a little girl,” Baucom said. “She loved the outdoors, she loved horses, she loved her friends, she loved social media, she loved playing games.”
Her mother, Diana Cojocari, later told police she last saw Madalina on Nov. 22 around noon. She later on changed her testimony, saying she last saw Madalina on Nov. 23 around 10 p.m. instead. That was the same day Diana Cojocari told Cornelius Police she and Madalina's stepfather Christopher Palmiter fought that evening.
Police records show Palmiter left town that evening and drove to Michigan to "pick up items." He told police he hadn't seen Madalina for a week prior to that date. Diana Cojocari told police Palmiter actually left on Nov. 24, not Nov. 23 as he claimed.
According to police reports, both Palmiter and Diana Cojocari accused each other of hiding Madalina. Neither of them reported her missing until Dec. 15.
On Dec. 12, a school resource officer visited Madalina's home because she had been truant since Nov. 21; no one answered the door.
The school resource officer asked Diana Cojocari to meet with Madalina on Dec. 15, and Diana Cojocari told the officer she would bring Madalina with her to the meeting. When she showed up to school without Madalina that day, Diana Cojocari told the school resource officer and the school counselor that she hadn't seen Madalina since Nov. 22. Detectives were sent to her home to search for clues as to where Madalina could be. The FBI was called in to help with the search on Dec. 16. Inside the home, police found the girl's backpack and some clothes missing.
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Both Palmiter and Diana Cojocari were arrested on Dec. 17.
Arrest records released after they were taken into custody stated Diana Cojocari contacted family in Moldova about her daughter's disappearance. When asked by detectives why she hesitated to contact police, Cojocari said she feared her husband "put her family in danger." She also stated a backpack and clothes belonging to Madalina were gone from their home. That led police to search their home again on Dec. 21.
On Jan. 3, Diana Cojocari and Palmiter were indicted for failing to report Madalina missing. While in jail, Diana Cojocari was charged with drug possession on April 14. Those charges were dismissed on July 6. On Aug. 18, Palmiter posted bond after his bond was lowered from $200,000 to $25,000. He must wear an ankle monitor. Diana Cojocari remains in jail.
Investigators have combed through cell phone records, electronic communications, and other items that may be linked to Madalina’s disappearance.
Baucom said they have gotten several hundred tips on this case.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children says it only takes one set of eyes to find Madalina.
“Certainly, our most visible resource is the poster, getting the child's image out there maintaining the child's image out there. Also getting our child's poster to our many different poster partners, as well as our social media sites,” Leemie Khang-Sofer of the Missing Children’s Division said.
Khang-Sofer added that technology has come a long to help in cases where children are missing for long periods of time.
“We do an age progress photo, and that's to try to predict what the child would look like after they've been missing for that period of time,” Leemie Khang-Sofer said. “We do one every two years until 18.”
Cornelius police are encouraging people to continue to share Madalina’s photos and call in tips.
“We have poured our hearts and soul into this investigation, over the past 12 months and our goal is to find Madalina and we are not going to stop until we do,” Baucom said. “I do believe Madalina is still out there and someone has the information we need to help find her.”
If you have any information concerning the whereabouts of Madalina Cojocari, please contact the Cornelius Police Department at 704-892-7773. You may also contact your local FBI office, the nearest American Embassy or Consulate, or you can submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.