NC NC - Madalina Cojocari, 11, parents reported missing Dec 15, last seen at home, Cornelius, 23 Nov 2022

[ptandj]

Here are Guilford County records, not finding anything yet though: Police To Citizen

 

[sleuth_truths]

I'm concerned about Madalina's mother, too.

 

[sleuth_truths]

Here are Guilford County records, not finding anything yet though: Police To Citizen

I've never used sheriff sites to search past charges (thanks for the lesson!). I always use county clerk of court sites, but Forsyth county's public records appear to only be searchable via physical kiosks.

 

[ptandj]

I think it's tricky because the sheriff's sites seem to show incident dates and arrest dates, which may not be the same as court record dates. Where I am, you can search court records online so that is also what I am used to, but it does seem like that's not a thing for NC court records as far as I can find.

 

[Ontario Mom]

Were the parents separated and she was supposed to be with her step-dad? That is the only possible thing I can think of. When they say the "parents" reported her missing, was it mom and step-dad? Mom and divorced dad?

I just started following this morning and so far I haven't even seen the mother mentioned at all. Not even a name.

 

[sleuth_truths]

I just started following this morning and so far I haven't even seen the mother mentioned at all. Not even a name.

Her name is known, but she's a victim here until otherwise stated by LE, so it can't be posted.

 

[Parsnip]

She was last seen wearing jeans, pink, purple and white Adidas shoes, and a white t-shirt and jacket.

This is pretty specific, given the lapse in time between her missing report and the time she was last seen. I wonder whether there is a photo of her on Thanksgiving eve? Recollection or noting missing clothes probably would not produce this description, imo, with the exception of the shoes.

The juvenile was last seen at home, on the evening of November 23, 2022, and has not been seen since.

If this information came from her stepdad and has not been corroborated, she may have gone “missing” prior to that Wednesday. Or maybe she was at school that day? Or a family friend or relative saw her…

Can any NC folks comment on how “diggable” the ground would have been in late November?

*Both quotes RSBM from the Cornelius PD’s release on page one, as summarized by @Unalienable Rights

 

[wnk]

Laying out a timeline, as there's such a LARGE, troubling gap here...



W NOV 23 - LAST SEEN
NO SCHOOL [4]
[PM] - last seen at home [1]

Th NOV 24 - DAY 1
THANKSGIVING - NO SCHOOL [4]

F NOV 25 - DAY 2
THANKSGIVING BREAK - NO SCHOOL [4]

Th DEC 15 - REPORTED MISSING - DAY 22
[TIME?] - reported missing to Bailey Middle School SRO by "parents" [1]

F DEC 16 - SDadCP ARRESTED - DAY 23
[TIME?] - Stepfather Christopher Palmiter arrested for failure to report disappearance of child, held on $100k bond [2]
[PM] FBI, SBI searching residence, "spent hours digging in the ground in her backyard, and searching for evidence inside the home" [3]



SOURCES
[1] Cornelius PD FB post - Dec 15
[2] Stepdad of missing 11-year-old - WSOC - Dec 16
[3] FBI, SBI search Cornelius home - WCCB - Dec 16
[4] Bailey MIddle School calendar

 

[Tealgrove]

I guess we aren’t surprised by this turn of events.

So sad.

MOO

 

[Parsnip]

Yay @wnk ! Glad to see you here!

I would add, since there is interest in M’s mom, that she seems to have been last mentioned on 12/15, when the “parents” reported her missing at the middle school.

 

[ptandj]

Super helpful timeline, @wnk ! I would add that according to the calendar you linked, there was also no school on Wednesday, Nov 23. It is listed as an annual leave day and according to the district those are days off school. Here's the district's calendar for the whole school year: https://www.cmsk12.org/site/handler...2297&FileName=2022-2023 Academic Calendar.pdf

You can see the definition of annual leave days (teacher vacation days) here if you scroll down: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools / Calendar

 

[MsMarple]

Laying out a timeline, as there's such a LARGE, troubling gap here...



W NOV 23 - LAST SEEN
[PM] - last seen at home [1]

Th NOV 24 - DAY 1
THANKSGIVING - NO SCHOOL [4]

F NOV 25 - DAY 2
THANKSGIVING BREAK - NO SCHOOL [4]

Th DEC 15 - REPORTED MISSING - DAY 22
[TIME?] - reported missing to Bailey Middle School SRO [1]

F DEC 16 - SDadCP ARRESTED - DAY 23
[TIME?] - Stepfather Christopher Palmiter arrested for failure to report disappearance of child, held on $100k bond [2]
[PM] FBI, SBI searching residence, "spent hours digging in the ground in her backyard, and searching for evidence inside the home" [3]



SOURCES
[1] Cornelius PD FB post - Dec 15
[2] Stepdad of missing 11-year-old - WSOC - Dec 16
[3] FBI, SBI search Cornelius home - WCCB - Dec 16
[4] Bailey MIddle School calendar for Nov 2022

Thank you, it really puts things into perspective.

Question: When is a timeline not a timeline?

Answer: When someone’s lying.

JMO

 

[Parsnip]

Thinking about the demographics of the neighborhood and the fact that LE are digging up the yard…

Might there be security cameras that could have caught unusual activity in the days prior to and after Thanksgiving?

Maybe there were neighbors or yard crews who had been active outside in those days who may have noticed something?

 

[Ontario Mom]

Her name is known, but she's a victim here until otherwise stated by LE, so it can't be posted.

If the mother's name has been mentioned in MSM, it can be posted here (along with the link).

 

[Chelly]

Her name is known, but she's a victim here until otherwise stated by LE, so it can't be posted.

It is odd that there is absolutely no reference to mother by LE nor MSM. Wonder if she is still in the area or traveling? The omission seems glaring, doesn't it?

 

[LKN NC]

Just a local here.

I live here in Lake Norman. Ironically, I used to live in her neighborhood and my son (he was 14 at the time) went missing for about 15 hours. Long story short- he left willing in the early morning hours and walked to a friend’s house in the dark. We had a happy outcome. Aside from working through better decision making, we were unscathed. The police department was phenomenal. Due to things that looked suspicious And troublesome, they reacted immediately. It appears they did the same in this case, requesting the FBI.

This is a small town with a lot of new people from outside of NC. Many northern transplants. Not unusual to not know your neighbors at all. My son was the President of Bailey Middle School while there. It has a large student population of over 1700 students. It would be easy to go to the school and not be “missed” by peers unless they are your besties. The school resource officer is amazing and it is a very good school. Attendance is taken very serious here but they will give parents a chance, which combined with the holiday, LOTS of sick kids here recently (Flu, Covid, RSV, Stomach bug, etc.) could be why it took three weeks to raise red flags. The school alerts families daily of absences. If the parents were just not responding, the school probably took action after so many days.

Cornelius is an extremely wealthy area. That neighborhood is considered middle class compared to the whole area. Many rental homes but even they are expensive compared to most.

<modsnip>

The ground can be easily dug this time of year. It is cold now and has rained off and on for weeks.

Geography- whole area (Cornelius/Huntersville/Mooresville/Davidson and parts of Denver and Troutman) is collectively known as Lake Norman. Cornelius is a tiny one exit town (off I-77). Her school is fed by Cornelius and Huntersville.

We have a HUGE man made lake here Lake Norman.32,510 acres (50.8 square miles), average depth of 35 feet with deepest parts up to 112 feet. Her neighborhood borders Lake Davidson which connects to Lake Norman.


<modsnip>

Thinking about the demographics of the neighborhood and the fact that LE are digging up the yard…

Might there be security cameras that could have caught unusual activity in the days prior to and after Thanksgiving?

Maybe there were neighbors or yard crews who had been active outside in those days who may have noticed something?

local here- there is a car wash at the entrance to the neighborhood. Directly across the street there is a Pelican’s Snowballs that is closed for the season. Attached to Pelican’s is a well known local bar, and beside the car wash is a boutique. I don’t believe any of them have cameras but MANY homes have cameras now. There is one main entrance and a side entrance that goes into an old in town neighborhood.

 

[Lwieckowicz]

It is odd that there is absolutely no reference to mother by LE nor MSM. Wonder if she is still in the area or traveling? The omission seems glaring, doesn't it?

If I was the mother of a missing child you better believe I wouldn’t be silent on the issue, I’d be vocal as possible trying to get as much coverage as possible to find my child. I cannot relate to any of this as a mother myself. JMO

 

[Regal Beagle]

I can't understand why only step-Dad was arrested for not reporting her missing, her Mom should be held equally responsible.

I thought the exact same thing..

 

[cedgison]

I think it's tricky because the sheriff's sites seem to show incident dates and arrest dates, which may not be the same as court record dates. Where I am, you can search court records online so that is also what I am used to, but it does seem like that's not a thing for NC court records as far as I can find.

Local to this case, as well, and wanted to respond to your inquiry of searching criminal history.

Currently scheduled/upcoming court cases (which I realize is useless for past appearances) can be searched/viewed here: NC Court Calendar

Our state wide inmate/criminal offender database can be searched here: NC DPS Offender Search.

 

[MsMarple]

FWIW, there's a now deleted old website for the stepdad called Christopher James Studios. I verified it by the contact phone number which matched Christopher Palmiter, age 60 from Cornelius NC.

There's nothing of value on the website. The associated FB pages are still up. He lived in Grand Ledge Michigan at one time.

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Home - Christopher James Studios

web.archive.org

A hasty search puts him in Michigan until about 2001 then North Carolina around 2002.