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

[KPO]

At this point I feel like not enough is publicly known to have any real bearing on mom’s mental fitness, but seeing as though she chose not to report her child missing and that she’s been arrested without being able to produce evidence of where her child might be, she’s definitely not acting like a mother of sound mind IMO

You never know what's going on behind closed doors. There could be years of abuse and controlling behavior by the husband. Or for all we know, the mother could have been the one that harmed the girl (although that's doubtful). Whatever the situation, I don't know how they thought this was going to play out. I'm surprised that they even admitted it had been over 3 weeks since they saw the daughter and I guess Thanksgiving was just the two of them because how would they explain to family or friends where Madalina was.

The mother moved here around 2016 and they bought that house in 2017. My guess would be that she doesn't have many, if any, friends. None of the neighbors that I saw interviewed seemed to really know them. Between local LE and the FBI, they'll get that woman talking soon. She has nothing to lose at this point.

 

[KPO]

In your post #253 a picture you posted appears to me that the house next door is a bi-level with a deck (2nd floor). I could be wrong. IMO

This is the neighbor's house. It's not a 2nd story deck. The neighbors would have to be super nosey to see anything going on.

 

[swanniee11]

This is the neighbor's house. It's not a 2nd story deck. The neighbors would have to be super nosey to see anything going on.

Thanks, with your original post it appeared to be a deck. Thanks for this pic.

 

[cedgison]

Well, at least her disappearance is now getting some press attention. I can not think of any innocent reason for her being missing and not reported such for nearly a month. To me, that fact alone bodes ill for any happy ending. :-(

I think the problem with her disappearance not getting attention was the fact that she hadn’t been reported missing. It’s been in our local news (most outlets, anyway, though not all) since Thursday or Friday and has since gone viral, thank goodness.

 

[Boodles]

I've seen things about what it was but it sounded like speculation. I can't see that the neighbor even has a deck. Looks like a fence, bushes and a pergola.

I haven’t seen anything in msm about burning. What is the source of this info?

 

[gizmobtj]

She has a social media site (not sure what it's called) that is apparently popular in Russia. She has I think 900 pictures. There's only pics of Madalina on it so I'm guessing that's the only child she has. I believe November 23rd She changed the pic to her daughter with a horse. On the 27th she posted pics of flowers her daughter and water pics. Ponds/ waterfalls. Last post is Dec. 6.

Edit
Last post is Dec 9. She changed profile pics to one of her and Madalina

Sorry yall I'm editing again. She was actually posting up until Tuesday. December 9th is the last date of her changing profile pics.

Could it be VK?

 

[cedgison]

I still want to know who saw her last , at her home ?
Since I'm assuming Madalina lived solely with her mom and stepdad who have now been arrested .....
Was the last verified siting by school teachers/classmates ?

Obviously it's concerning if the mom and stepdad are the only ones to have seen Madalina on that day.
Did she have a phone and did she text/call/facetime anyone that day ?
M00.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools had an annual leave day (no school) on November 23, per the 2022-2023 Academic Calendar, so this last verified sighting, on November 23, was not by someone at school so who did see her last? Good question!

cc: @swanniee11 as you had asked about when the school last saw her.

 

[KPO]

I haven’t seen anything in msm about burning. What is the source of this info?

Neighbors interviewed said that they were burning in the backyard on November 27th and again a couple days ago. There are tons of leaves down this time of year so maybe they have a fire pit and were burning leaves. You never know. Goodwill is about 1/2 mile away. No need to burn much of anything when you can just drop it off at Goodwill or have it collected with your weekly trash pickup. Anything interesting thrown away over the past 3 weeks is long gone by now.

 

[KPO]

I noticed that they had xmas decorations up which was interesting. People normally put those up after Thanksgiving. If my daughter was missing and I was trying to stay out of the public eye, I think that I would have skipped doing decorations this year. Risky because neighbors will start making small talk with you.

 

[Sd8503]

Could it be VK?

I honestly couldn't tell you. I don't believe so because you can log in using VK it says.


Here is the link again if it helps!

Diana Cojocari | OK.RU

Diana Cojocari. Place of birth - Бэлць. Current location – Ocho-Rioss. Connect on OK.

m.ok.ru

 

[jdglove]

If there was another scenario, wouldn't parents most likely have reported her missing immediately?

The most optimistic scenario I can think of is that she ran away with someone (hopefully not dangerous) and the parents didn't report it to authorities out of some selfish fear of the law outweighing concern for the child, such as immigration status or illegal activity they didn't want to expose. That would be shocking and tragic, but a bit more hopeful than the obvious worst cases. It might also fit disappearing right as Thanksgiving break began and the school not noticing immediately.

Two things I find interesting.
(1) The FBI poster includes what she was last wearing and that she was last seen at home. That could be fabricated but it could mean the parents noticed her disappearance and were concerned as opposed to causing it.
(2) The wanted poster includes going to your local consulate or embassy as if it's possible she is in a foreign country. I don't know how standard that is. But with a Russian connection finding her could be very difficult in this climate.

 

[Unalienable Rights]

The most optimistic scenario I can think of is that she ran away with someone (hopefully not dangerous) and the parents didn't report it to authorities out of some selfish fear of the law outweighing concern for the child, such as immigration status or illegal activity they didn't want to expose. That would be shocking and tragic, but a bit more hopeful than the obvious worst cases. It might also fit disappearing right as Thanksgiving break began and the school not noticing immediately.

Two things I find interesting.
(1) The FBI poster includes what she was last wearing and that she was last seen at home. That could be fabricated but it could mean the parents noticed her disappearance and were concerned as opposed to causing it.
(2) The wanted poster includes going to your local consulate or embassy as if it's possible she is in a foreign country. I don't know how standard that is. But with a Russian connection finding her could be very difficult in this climate.

BBM

I don't believe that there is a Russian connection. Mother and daughter are from the Republic of Moldova. Moldova hasn't been connected with Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

 

[jdglove]

BBM

I don't believe that there is a Russian connection. Mother and daughter are from the Republic of Moldova. Moldova hasn't been connected with Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Thanks for clarifying that. I jumped to a wrong conclusion.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

I haven't seen a case yet where parents waited a long time to report their child missing and reported it in person (rather than by phone) that turned out well.

These parents have now had a lot of time to take actions and have avoided a recorded phone call.
JMO.

I wonder what they said to the school resource officer when he or she asked why they waited so long to report Madalina missing. What could you possibly say?

 

[MissMalowe]

Unsure if this article has already been posted, (apologies if it has) but someone upthread asked if police had been back to the home and this article was updated 11 hours ago with additional info:
FBI, SBI Return To Home Of 11-Year-Old Cornelius Girl, One Day After Arrest Of Parents - WCCB Charlotte's CW

-FBI and SBI were back at the home yesterday afternoon to take more pictures outside and collect evidence from inside.

-brought in a K9 unit

-a car from the family's garage was towed

 

[Parsnip]

I wonder what they said to the school resource officer when he or she asked why they waited so long to report Madalina missing. What could you possibly say?

RSBM

I think they got themselves backed into a corner. MOO is that they *did* report her absent via whatever means the school uses, like online portal, email, phone call, etc. and probably did so for several days. But after a period of time, the school would have needed some documentation to support her extended absence. Without documentation, even if the parents continued to report her absence, they would have been considered unexcused. This would then trigger the school’s protocol for truancy management. My own guess is that the resource officer paid a home visit, the parents didn’t answer, and the officer left a certified letter stating that they’d have to appear in truancy court if M continued to be a no show for school. So they went to the school to avoid court. The officer didn’t believe whatever story they gave him/her, and they had no good reason for reporting her absent if she had been truly missing. The officer then would be required by law to make a report. That probably happened with the parents present so that the LE receiving the report could speak to them as well. MOO, IME

 

[Parsnip]

I haven’t seen anything in msm about burning. What is the source of this info?

See below for @wnk’s timeline and sources:

UPDATES in RED

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]

Su NOV 27 - DAY 4
[PM] According to neighbors, there were fires burning in the yard at the residence "at all hours" beginning on this day [5@2:22]

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

F DEC 16 - DAY 23
[PM] FBI, SBI searching residence, "spent hours digging in the ground in her backyard, and searching for evidence inside the home" [3]

S DEC 17 - SDadCP & MomDC ARRESTED - DAY 24
12:29AM [6] - SDadCP arrested for failure to report disappearance of child, held on $100k bond [2]
[AM] According to neighbors, there were fires burning in the yard at residence up to this time [5@2:22]
10:12AM - MomDC arrested for failure to report disappearance of child, held on $100k bond [7]



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
[5] Police asking for public's help... VIDEO - WCNC - Dec 17
[6] Mecklenburg Co arrest record for Christopher Palmiter (saved on Wayback)
[7] Mecklenburg Co arrest record for Diana Cojocari (saved on Wayback)

 

[sleuth_truths]

Are there other relatives/friends of the mothers' or the stepdads, who have interacted with Madalina and noticed she stopped responding ?
It seems odd that no other person seemed to have missed this child.
It's possible that no one missed her, if there aren't any close relatives or friends of the mom and stepdad, but most people have connections !

So, just saying -- and my .02

Backyard isn't really that small. It's not deep but it's pretty wide. The one neighbor wouldn't have a good view of whatever they were burning.

I wasn't able to find a single mention or photo of Madalina on anyone's social media except Mom's foreign social media account posted by another poster here (thank you!). Of course, there could be photos of her elsewhere that are simply not public (I never publicly posted pics of my own children until they were well over 18 and I *still* don't post public photos of my pet, so it's possible).

Great pics, KPO. Seems like it would be awfully risky to burn anything in that yard with all the overhanging trees.

 

[sleuth_truths]

You never know what's going on behind closed doors. There could be years of abuse and controlling behavior by the husband. Or for all we know, the mother could have been the one that harmed the girl (although that's doubtful). Whatever the situation, I don't know how they thought this was going to play out. I'm surprised that they even admitted it had been over 3 weeks since they saw the daughter and I guess Thanksgiving was just the two of them because how would they explain to family or friends where Madalina was.

The mother moved here around 2016 and they bought that house in 2017. My guess would be that she doesn't have many, if any, friends. None of the neighbors that I saw interviewed seemed to really know them. Between local LE and the FBI, they'll get that woman talking soon. She has nothing to lose at this point.

Agreed. All photos I've seen of stepdad with Mom (and I think there's only been 3), her name is never mentioned -- even in the comments by his family. She's just referred to as "the wife". Again, there could very well be more photos that are set to private.

 

[sleuth_truths]

This is the neighbor's house. It's not a 2nd story deck. The neighbors would have to be super nosey to see anything going on.

Agreed, again. I did see a neighbor interviewed very early on and written reports of the same neighbor specifically naming what was burning, but I don't have time this morning to find it.