The Hunt for Madalina Cojocari: FBI expands search for 11-yr-old girl missing for over 3 weeks
CORNELIUS, NORTH CAROLINA: The FBI reported that detectives were broadening the search across land and water while also following various leads as the desperate hunt for Madalina Cojocari continues. Madalina, 11, has been missing from her home in Cornelius since the day before Thanksgiving. Detectives are now expanding the scope of their investigation and have included Lake Cornelius as a 'precautionary measure'.
The FBI’s Charlotte field office said in a social media post that the search in the water is a “precautionary measure” and is simply “part of the normal investigative process." “The @CorneliusPD, #FBI, & @SBI1937 are developing & following many leads to #FindMadalina,” the office tweeted. “As part of the normal investigative process, we are expanding our search to include Lake Cornelius as a precautionary measure. There’s nothing we won’t do to #FindMadalina.”
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The @CorneliusPD, #FBI, & @SBI1937 are developing & following many leads to #FindMadalina. As part of the normal investigative process, we are expanding our search to include Lake Cornelius as a precautionary measure. There’s nothing we won’t do to #FindMadalina. pic.twitter.com/xTWKwkDa7v
— FBI Charlotte (@FBICharlotte) December 19, 2022
As a precaution, the search has been widened to include places surrounding the house where Madalina was last seen as well as extra land and water searches, according to Cornelius police, per reports from Fox News.
MEAWW previously reported on Saturday, December 17, the mother and stepfather of the missing 11-year-old North Carolina girl were arrested and charged after allegedly failing to report her missing for three weeks. Cornelius Police arrested the stepfather, Christopher Palmiter, 60, and the mother, Diana Cojocari, just two days after the FBI got involved in the search for the child. The pair has been accused of failing to disclose a child's disappearance to law officials. The parents also failed to report Madalina's disappearance to her school's resource officer until December 14, three weeks after she was last seen in class on November 22.
An identification poster for Madalina was released by the FBI. "On December 17, 2022, at approximately 10:15 this morning, Cornelius Police arrested Madalina's mother, Diana Cojocari, for Failure to Report the Disappearance of a Child to Law Enforcement. Cojocari never reported her daughter, Madalina Cojocari as missing after she was last seen in Cornelius on November 23, 2022," the police wrote in a statement.
Madalina is noted as being 90 pounds in weight and standing at 4 feet, 10 inches. Her hair is brown. Officials have posted pictures of Madalina and stated that she enjoys ice cream and horses. "We need to make certain we have spoken to every person who may have information about Madalina to help us create an exact timeline of when she was last seen," investigators said. Anybody with information regarding Madalina is urged to contact the Cornelius Police Department at 704-892-7773.