CORNELIUS, N.C. — A mother is reported to have left the country months after pleading guilty to failing to report her missing child in a case that gained national attention.
Diana Cojocari has left the United States, a spokesperson for Homeland Security Investigations told WCNC Charlotte on Tuesday. It's not known when Cojocari left the country.
Madalina Cojocari went missing in November 2022 when she was 11 years old. She was last seen getting off her school bus in Cornelius in 2022.
“I still have hope,” said M. Quentin Williams, a former FBI agent who runs runs the Dedication to Community nonprofit. “It's a glimmer of hope, but I still have hope that she's alive.”
Diana Cojocari and Christopher Palmiter -- Madalina Cojocari's stepfather -- had both been charged with failing to report the disappearance of the young girl. The parents were accused of waiting nearly a month to report the disappearance.
Diana Cojocari has been formally named as a suspect in the young girl's 2022 disappearance.
In a social media post in July, the Cornelius Police Department referred to Cojocari for the first time publicly as a suspect. Never before in the year-and-a-half since the girl was last seen had a suspect been officially named in the case.
Days after that post was made, Diana Cojocari posted to Facebook and appeared to indicate she was leaving the country. However, as only a suspect, criminal experts say police cannot prevent her from leaving the country.
“You are a person of interest, and you may have done something, but they can't prove it. They certainly don't have enough probable cause to charge you with the crime. So, you're free to go about your business,” said attorney Aaron Lee, who is certified by the North Carolina State Bar as a criminal law specialist.
“In this case, she has no restrictions,” said Williams. “She's allowed to leave, and then it becomes a matter of if evidence surfaces that goes to her culpability, then how to get her back. And again, that depends on the crime and the country.”
There’s been speculation Cojocari was out of the country for weeks. At last check, Cornelius police said there were no active warrants for her arrests.
"It never looks good if a person leaves a country during an investigation," said Lee. "But in fact, this investigation has been going on for so long, you can't expect a person just to put their entire life on hold, and we know she had family out of this country."
Bringing Cojocari back if more charges are filed won't be easy depending on where she is.
“There are standing agreements between nations, whether it's codified in the treaty or some other agreement that would allow for the U.S. to extradite her back,” said Williams “If there's a cooperative agreement between the U.S. and where she is, we might be able to gain assistance from that foreign nation.”
Williams said Cojocari leaving the United States creates some more obstacles as investigators continue to try and find Madalina.
"They're not going to be able to track [Diana Cojocari] and have her at their disposal," said Williams. "So really she has made it much more difficult for law enforcement in this situation.
Diana Cojocari had been released from jail in May a day after pleading guilty to failing to report her daughter's disappearance. She had previously pleaded not guilty to the charge. Her release was possible because the maximum prison sentence is 24 months, minus time already served. At the time, Cojocari had spent 520 days in jail after being arrested in December 2022.
A jury found Palmiter guilty of failing to report the disappearance of Madalina earlier this year.
Neither Diana Cojocari nor Palmiter have ever been charged with anything other than the failure to report Madalina's disappearance.
Diana Cojocari moved to the United States from Moldova. Officials did not say specifically where she left for during her recent departure.
Contact Jesse Pierre at jpierrepet@wcnc.com or follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.