11-year-old Madalina Cojocari was last seen in Cornelius, North Carolina on November 21, 2022. She disappeared after getting off the school bus outside her home.

Background

Madalina Cojocari was born on April 11, 2011, in Moldova. In late 2015, she immigrated to the United States after her mother Diana Cojocari met Christopher Palmiter, a US citizen, through an online service.

In 2022, Madalina Cojocari resided with her family in Cornelius, a suburban town along Lake Norman in northern Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. She attended Bailey Middle School. She has both Moldovan and Romanian passports.

Disappearance

On November 21, 2022, Madalina Cojocari was captured on surveillance video getting off her school bus outside her home in Cornelius, North Carolina, around 4:59 pm. This was the last day she attended school.

On November 23, 2022, Madalina was reportedly last seen by her parents when she went to bed around 10:00 pm. Her parents allegedly got into an argument that night.

On November 24, 2022, Diana Cojocari went to check on her daughter around 11:30 am, but Madalina was nowhere to be seen. Some clothes and a backpack were also missing.

Her stepfather, Christopher Palmiter, told police that he drove out of town that morning to visit his family in Michigan “to recover some items.” He returned home three days later to find his stepdaughter missing.

On December 15, 2022, Madalina’s mother filed a missing person’s report with the Cornelius Police Department. The report was filed three weeks after she went missing, and only after a school resource officer showed up at the family’s home looking for the girl.

Investigation

On December 17, 2022, Dana Cojocari and Christopher Palmiter were arrested for “failure to report the disappearance of a child to law enforcement,” a felony in North Carolina.

Dana Cojocari told police that she didn’t immediately report her daughter 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.”

On February 13, 2023, authorities searched Dana Cojocari’s vehicle, a green 2008 Toyota Prius and found her Romanian passport, a Moldovan debit card, and Madalina’s Moldovan and Romanian passports among other documents.

Mountain Trip and Possible Sightings

On December 2, 2022, phone records show that Dana Cojocari called a “distant relative” to ask for help to “smuggle her and her daughter away from home.” A text message sent also suggested that she was in the presence of Madalina.

On December 3, 2022, Dana was seen at a service station in Hickory, North Carolina, where she got an oil change on her vehicle. The car attendant reportedly saw children’s toys in the car but no sign of Madalina Cojocari.

On December 4, 2022, Dana told police that she drove to the mountains of North Carolina to search for her missing daughter.

On December 16, 2022, a girl and a man, matching the description of Madalina Cojocari and her “only known blood relative” in the United States, were captured on surveillance cameras together in Sugar Mountain, North Carolina. The two were later seen together at a Lowe’s Foods supermarket in Linville.

Parents Found Guilty For Failing to Report Missing Daughter

On May 31, 2024, Christopher Palmiter was sentenced to 6-17 months in prison for failing to report his stepdaughter Madalina Cojocari missing.

The sentence was suspended to 30 months of supervised probation because Christopher had already been in jail for 244 days. Diana Cojocari pleaded guilty to the same charge but was released after serving the maximum time.

On June 10, 2024, Christopher Palmiter filed for divorce from his wife Diana Cojocari, but the couple were reportedly still seen together by locals at their home in Cornelius, North Carolina, following their release from prison.

Christopher Palmiter claimed that his ex-wife likely did something to her daughter and “hid her somewhere with her Moldovan family where she’s not going to be found.”

He describes Diana Cojocari as being “controlling and increasingly distant.” He claimed that she resorted to unusual rituals like burning items to ward off evil spirits, such as stainless steel mugs and closet racks in their fire pit.

Dana was released from jail in May 2024 after serving 520 days in jail. Police have subsequently named her a suspect in her daughter’s disappearance, though no new charges have been filed at this time.

Whereabouts

Foul play is suspected in Madalina Cojocari’s disappearance. The circumstances of Madalina’s disappearance remain unclear and her case is currently classified as missing. Her case remains unsolved.

Appearance

Physical Description:
White female born on April 11, 2011. Madalina has brown hair, brown eyes, stands 4’11 tall, and weighs 90 pounds.

Distinctive Physical Features:
No information available.

Clothing and accessories:
Madalina was last seen wearing a white t-shirt, jacket, jeans, and pink/purple/white Adidas shoes.

Investigating Agency

If you have any information regarding the disappearance of Madalina Cojocari please contact the Cornelius Police Department at (704) 892-1363. Agency Case Number: 22-1215091