Two years after the disappearance of Madalina Cojocari (pictured above, left), police finally have a suspect — her own mother.
In case you need a refresher, way back in November 2022, the 11-year-old girl mysteriously vanished from her home in Cornelius, North Carolina. The issue was that she wasn’t officially reported missing to police until 22 DAYS after she disappeared. Absolutely horrifying — and suspicious as hell — because her stepdad Christopher Palmiter only reported the girl missing to her school, not to law enforcement. In fact, the SCHOOL called police after they couldn’t do anything else to find the child. Not her own family. WTF!
At the time, the Cornelius Police Department as well as the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation became understandably suspicious of Palmiter and the child’s mother Diana Cojocari (pictured above, right). Why did they wait a month to report her missing? Why did they keep this all under wraps? Such a scary situation…
Related: Remains Of Missing 20-Year-Old Georgia Woman Found 100 Miles From Home
Police searched the family’s home and came up with nothing at the time, leading to a dead-end. It seemed like Madalina had just somehow vanished without a trace. But now they’re getting closer to answers. You see, after Madelina disappeared, the young girl’s mom had been arrested along with Palmiter for failure to report the disappearance of a child to law enforcement. The 37-year-old served a year and five months in prison on those charges, and was released in May. But now she’s become a prime suspect in a much bigger aspect of the case.
On Tuesday, the CPD shared an update to the case, featuring a new flyer that asked for information on the missing girl. In the caption of their Facebook post, the police department wrote:
“We continue to seek information on the whereabouts of Madalina Cojocari who hasn’t been seen since November 21st, 2022. Her mother, Diana Cojocari, is considered a suspect in her disappearance.”
Whoa.
They didn’t make it clear how they were able to name Diana as a suspect, but she now officially is one. And they’re still searching for Madalina, as they added:
“We want to #FindMadalina. This has been our priority since we learned she was missing. Please continue to share her picture on social media to help us and call us if you have any information that can help our detectives at 704-892-7773.”
See the full post (below):
In a public statement, Deputy Chief Jennifer Thompson confirmed the new update:
“Diana Cojocari is Madalina’s mother. She is considered a suspect in her disappearance and we remain focused and committed to finding Madalina.”
Meanwhile, Madalina’s mom has officially filed for divorce from her husband as of last month. The reason for that hasn’t been made public. But obviously, with all the rumors swirling around and the new suspicions as police get closer to finding out what might have happened, it just leaves another bad taste in your mouth. We still hope police can somehow find Madalina safe and sound…
[Image via Cornelius Police Department/Mecklenburg County Detention Center]
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