TODAY NBC – The mother and stepfather of a missing 11-year-old North Carolina girl have been arrested, accused of failing to report her disappearance to authorities, officials announced.
Madalina Cojocari was last seen at her home in Cornelius, North Carolina, on the evening of Nov. 23, and hasn’t been seen since, according to the Cornelius Police Department.
But police weren’t aware the sixth grader was missing until nearly three weeks later on Dec. 15 when her parents reported her missing to her school, Bailey Middle School. An investigation into Madalina’s disappearance was launched that day.
The Cornelius Police Department announced Saturday that Madalina’s mother Diana Cojocari, 37, and stepfather Christopher Palmiter, 60, were arrested and charged with failure to report the disappearance of a child to law enforcement.
Both were booked into Mecklenburg County Detention Center where they remain as of Monday.
Attorney information for the pair was not immediately available.
Police said they are actively looking for Madalina and are looking to speak with anyone with information on her and her potential whereabouts.
“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,” police said.
The FBI and North Carolina’s State Bureau of Investigation are aiding in the search.
Madalina, described as a fan of horses, was last seen wearing jeans, pink, purple and white Adidas shoes and a white T-shirt and jacket, police said.
She is described as 4 feet, 10 inches tall, with brown hair, brown eyes and weighing 90 pounds.
Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Madalina Cojocari is asked to contact the Cornelius Police Department at 704-892-7773.
