Parents ‘waited three weeks’ to report disappearance of their girl, backyard dug up

The parents of a missing 11-year-old North Carolina girl have been arrested after waiting three weeks to report her missing to the school.

Madalina Cojocari was last seen on November 23 with state investigators who spent hours digging in the family’s backyard this weekend while looking inside for evidence.

Police in Cornelius, north of Charlotte, arrested Diana Cojocari, 37, and Christopher Palmiter, 60, Saturday days after the FBI became involved in the search for the young woman.

Police say Madalina’s parents waited three weeks, until December 14, to visit their daughter’s school and report her missing. It’s been almost a month since she last attended class.

Both parents have now been charged with failing to report a missing child to the police.

Madalina Cojocari, 11, was last seen on November 23 with her mother and stepfather allegedly waiting weeks to report her missing.

Police in Cornelius, north of Charlotte, arrested Diana Cojocari, 37, and Christopher Palmiter, 60, on Saturday, days after the FBI also became involved in the search for the young man.

On Friday night, the FBI released a missing poster with identifying information for Madalina, who is believed to have disappeared the day before Thanksgiving.

Her parents reported her missing to the Bailey High School resource officer on Wednesday, school officials said. His last day at school was November 22. School officials were then required to inform law enforcement.

Madalina had last been seen at her home in Cornelius.

Palmiter, who works as a mechanical designer at a machine manufacturer, is being held on $100,000 bond.

‘On December 17, 2022, at approximately 10:15 this morning, Cornelilus Police arrested Madalina’s mother, Diana Cojocari, for the disappearance of a child to law enforcement. Cojocari never reported her daughter, Madalina Cojocari, missing after she was last seen in Cornelius on November 23, 2022,” police wrote in a statement.

Residents living in the sleepy town seemed shocked by what was happening in the neighborhood.

I’ve lived here all my life, so I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s strange that it seems to have gone missing in November, and it’s only now being reported,’ said an identified neighbour, Sydney Capps. WCCB watching in disbelief as the officer with shovels made his way to the family home.

Police in Cornelius, North Carolina, near Charlotte, along with the FBI, have been digging up the front yard of the family home.

Police say Madalina’s parents waited three weeks to visit their daughter’s school and report her missing.

Palmiter, who works as a mechanical designer at a machine manufacturer, is being held on $100,000 bail.

Officers also entered the family’s home to discover evidence contained inside.

Madalina had last been seen at her home in Cornelius. Both parents have since been charged with failing to report a missing child to police.

Both parents are now being held at the Mecklenburg County Detention Center.

Cornelius police have not said if they found anything of significance during the search of the home. Since then, the police have opened an investigation into Cojocari’s disappearance.

Cojocari was last seen wearing jeans, a white T-shirt and jacket along with purple, pink and white Adidas shoes.

She is described as 4 feet, 10 inches tall and weighs approximately 90 pounds, according to police. She has brown hair and brown eyes, authorities said.

Officers urge anyone with information on the girl’s whereabouts to call the Cornelius Police Department at 704 892 7773.