Missing Madalina Cojocari: Where North Carolina case stands on girl’s 14th birthday

CORNELIUS, N.C. (WBTV) - Madalina Cojocari, a girl missing from Mecklenburg County since 2022, would be turning 14 years old on Friday.

The girl’s birthday comes more than two years since she disappeared from Cornelius under suspicious and unresolved circumstances, sparking a significant investigation still underway in 2025.

Cojocari disappeared in November 2022 at the age of 11 years old. She was last publicly seen getting off of the school bus at her home.

Police were not immediately notified of Cojocari’s disappearance. The girl’s parents didn’t report her missing until two weeks later.

Law enforcement have continued to search for Cojocari in the now-two years since she went missing. Cojocari would be turning 14 years old on Friday, April 11, 2025.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children created an age-progression photo depicting Cojocari at the age of 14. The photo, shown below, was released on Friday.

Here’s a look at what happened, and where things stand more than two years since her disappearance.

What happened to Madalina Cojocari

Cojocari was a student at Bailey Middle School in Cornelius at the time of her disappearance.

She was last seen publicly on Nov. 21, 2022, getting off her school bus after school. She lived on Victoria Bay Drive near Catawba Avenue and I-77, just a few miles from the school.

She weighed about 90 pounds and had brown hair when she went missing.

Neighbors told WBTV in 2022 that the last time they saw the girl was on Halloween that year. According to neighbors, the girl’s family was quiet and mostly kept to themselves.

Two weeks after Cojocari was last seen, a school counselor began questioning where the girl was. When Cojocari didn’t appear for a scheduled meeting at the school, police obtained a search warrant for the girl’s home.

Officers found that some of Cojocari’s personal items, including clothes and a backpack, were missing.

Search warrants unsealed in 2023 said that the girl may have been spotted on surveillance cameras in Sugar Mountain on Dec. 16, 2022. The photos showed a child and a man, and were “physically consistent” with the missing girl and her only known blood relative in the U.S., Octavian Cebanu.

An unsealed warrant suggested the girl’s mother had seen Cojocari after the Nov. 23 date that she said the girl went missing. According to the warrant, the mother indicated in a text message on Dec. 2, 2022, that she was in the presence of Cojocari.

On Dec. 4, 2022, the mother traveled toward the mountains in North Carolina, claiming to be searching for her daughter, the warrants said.

The mother was seen getting an oil change at a shop in Hickory at that time, but the attendant servicing her vehicle did not report seeing the missing girl.

Local, state, and federal investigators were part of the team searching for Cojocari. Both the girl’s mother and her stepfather were charged in connection with her disappearance.

Family initially pleaded for help

One week after Madalina Cojocari was reported missing, and over a month after getting off the school bus, the FBI released a copy of a handwritten letter from her family, with them pleading for help finding her.

“We, as a family, are devastated and absolutely heartbroken to learn that Madalina is missing,” the letter, dated Dec. 22, 2022, read in part. “We love Madalina and are shocked by these circumstances ... Our family is doing everything we know to do to support the efforts to find Madalina and bring her home.”

The letter expressed appreciation for the efforts to find her, including the sharing of fliers, holding of prayer vigils, and the work of investigators.

Parents charged after failing to report girl’s disappearance

Mother Diana Cojocari and stepfather Christopher Palmiter were both charged in 2022 for failure to report the disappearance of a child to law enforcement.

Officials say the parents did not report Madalina Cojocari was missing until Dec. 15, 2022. A parent or guardian who knows a child is missing and fails to report it to police can be charged with a Class I felony in North Carolina.

Diana Cojocari, then 37 years old, pled guilty and has since served several months in jail. She was released from jail in May 2024.

While behind bars, Diana Cojocari was also charged with felony possession of a controlled substance while in jail. White powder found in her shirt pocket reportedly tested positive for cocaine- and fentanyl-based substances in March 2023.

Palmiter, who was 60 years old at the time, pled not guilty to the charge. He was later found guilty by a jury. In May 2024, he was sentenced to 30 months of supervised probation.

Stepfather’s defense blames girl’s mother

During his trial, Palmiter’s defense attorneys argued that the man shouldn’t be found guilty because of his wife’s behavior.

The defense alleged that Diana Cojocari knew where her daughter was, and was intentionally hiding her from Palmiter.

Prosecutors argued, however, that it was Palmiter’s duty to report the girl’s disappearance regardless of any circumstances.

Court records unsealed in 2023 showed that Diana Cojocari suggested her husband “gave the girl away for money.”

---> Warrants reveal Madalina Cojocari’s mother floated ‘theory’ she was given away for money

Mother, now a suspect, leaves country

Diana Cojocari is now considered a suspect in her daughter’s disappearance, the Cornelius Police Department announced in June. The department also said it remained “focused and committed” to finding the young girl.

No additional charges were brought against Diana Cojocari at that time, however.

Diana Cojocari is from the country of Moldova, and returned home following her release from jail, immigration officials confirmed in September.

Experts said then that if the mother was sent back, it would be hard to bring more charges against her. The U.S. does not have an extradition treaty with Moldova.

When she was released from prison in 2024, Diana Cojocari was asked by reporters if she knew where her daughter was. Diana Cojocari said “I hope so,” and then followed up with, “I hope she’s safe.”

Possible Madalina sightings reported

Additional warrants revealed that the missing girl was likely spotted in surveillance photos on Dec. 16, 2022 in Sugar Mountain.

The photos of a child and man were said to be “physically consistent” with the missing girl and her only known blood relative, Octavian Cebanu, in the United States.

A warrant also suggested Diana had in fact seen Madalina after the Nov. 23 date that she reported. The warrant said that “in a text message on December 2, 2022, Diana Cojocari indicated she was in the presence of the missing child. On December, 4, 2022, Diana Cojocari traveled towards the NC mountains claiming to be searching.”

During that time, Diana was seen getting an oil change at a shop in Hickory, but the attendant servicing her vehicle did not report seeing Madalina.

Months after the surveillance pictures, Cornelius Police said in July 2023 that they were investigating a report of a possible sighting at a California gas station. The potential sighting was posted to social media, but later deleted.

Cornelius Police Chief David Baucom said at that time that his department has followed up on hundreds of leads.

Search continues; new reward offered

The Cornelius Police Department continues to lead the investigation into Madalina Cojocari’s disappearance. Both the FBI and the State Bureau of Investigation are assisting with the case.

The police department held a vigil in April last year on Madalina Cojocari’s 13th birthday.

“Every day we are just a little bit closer [to finding her] than we were the day before,” David Baucom, Cornelius Police chief, said in April. “This has been a long, grueling investigation over the last 15 months, 16 months or so. As the pieces of that puzzle come together, I do feel like we’ll find her.”

The state is now offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information that leads to an arrest and a conviction for the person, or people, responsible for Madalina Cojocari’s disappearance. Anyone who has information is asked to call the Cornelius Police Department at 704-892-1363, or the State Bureau of Investigation at 919-662-4500.

Girl’s parents finalize divorce

On March 3, 2025, a divorce was finalized between Diana Cojocari, mother of Madalina Cojocari, and Christopher Palmiter, the girl’s stepfather.

Palmiter filed for divorce in the summer of 2024, nearly two years after his then-11-year-old stepdaughter went missing.

Find more of our coverage on this case here

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