The FBI Charlotte continues to actively search for Madalina Cojocari, a missing North Carolina girl who hasn’t been seen since November 2022.
On National Missing Children’s Day, the bureau uploaded a video explaining the circumstances of Madalina’s disappearance, while Cornelius police in North Carolina shared new footage on Saturday. The video shows Madalina, 11, at the pool and the beach while wearing a mermaid costume.
It has been 6 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.
Please call Detectives at 704-892-7773 with any info that will help us to #FindMadalina. pic.twitter.com/7o0C0bXU2p— Cornelius Police Department (@CorneliusPD) May 21, 2023
As CrimeOnline previously reported, police arrested Madeline’s mother, Diana Cojocari, in December 2022 for failing to report her daughter missing. Madalina hasn’t been seen since November 21, 2022; police learned about her disappearance a month later, when a Cornelius school resource officer contacted the defendant about the child’s absences.
Cojocari told detectives that she didn’t immediately report Madalina missing because she was concerned that her husband, Christopher Palmiter, would put her family in danger and that it “might start a conflict” with him.
Palmiter was also arrested in December 2022 and charged with failure to report a child missing.
“She told him she was in a bad relationship with co-defendant Christopher Palmiter and wanted a divorce,” the warrant read.
Previous arrest records state that Cojocari and Palmiter were arguing the night Madalina disappeared. Cojocari reportedly claimed that she feared Palmiter put Madalina in danger.
The latest court documents indicate that a K-9 police dog picked up on a narcotics smell inside Cojocari’s green 2008 Toyota Prius during a February 10 search. Police seized the car, along with Cojocari’s Romanian passport, a Moldovan debit card, Madalina’s Moldovan and Romanian passports, and miscellaneous documents found inside the vehicle.
Cojocari is also accused of making multiple calls to “unidentified targets” said to be involved in ongoing narcotic trafficking investigations, according to court documents.
Madalina is described as a white female who stands 4 feet 10 inches tall and weighs around 90 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes.
Anyone with information on Madalina should call the Cornelius Police Department at 704-892-7773. To remain anonymous, call North Mecklenburg Crime Stoppers at 704-896-7867.
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[Featured image: Police Handout]
