Where was Madalina Cojocari last seen? Police search lake near missing girl's house following parents' arrest

A search is still ongoing for Madalina Cojocari, an 11-year-old girl from North Carolina who went missing on November 23, 2022. She was last seen at her North Carolina home and was allegedly not reported missing by her parents until December 14.

With the search not yielding any results yet, law enforcement officials decided to explore a lake in her North Carolina town on Monday as a "precautionary measure." In a tweet, FBI’s Charlotte bureau said:

"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."

The Cornelius Police Department has posted constant updates on the search for Madalina Cojocari on Facebook. In one of the posts, they said:

"While the public will not see the majority of our investigative work, today you may see our lake patrol units and partners at the Cornelius Fire Department. As part of the normal investigative process, we are expanding our search area outside of the home where Madalina was last seen and that now includes Lake Cornelius."

On December 17, young Madalina Cojocari's mother, 37-year-old Diana Cojocari, and her stepfather, 60-year-old Christopher Palmiter, were arrested by the Cornelius Police Department for their failure to immediately report their daughter's disappearance to the school's resource officer.

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Surveillance video taken from school bus shows Madalina Cojocari getting down at her stop on November 21

11-year-old Cojocari's disappearance remained unknown to local authorities for weeks and people have raised questions as to why the girl's parents did not report it to anyone. Regarding the arrests of the parents, police said in a statement:

"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."

Over the weekend, officials were seen digging up the family's backyard in search of clues. Local officials have enlisted the help of the FBI and the North Carolina State Bureau in the search. A neighbor, who identified herself as Sydney Capps, told WCCB that it was strange that the child's disappearance was reported so late.

"It’s odd that it seems like she went missing back in November, and it’s just now being reported."

According to a press release posted by the Cornelius Police Department, surveillance footage from a school bus showed Madalina Cojocari getting off at her stop on November 21, 2022, at 4.59 pm.

This is reportedly the last "independent" confirmation of where she was last seen. Any information provided after this point in time has come from her parents who are presently in police custody. Officials said:

"We are seeking additional witnesses outside of the family to narrow down the exact timeline of when she disappeared."

Police have further said that Diana Cojocari was contacted frequently by Charlotte-Mecklenburg school employees regarding Madelina Cojocari's unexplained absence from school for weeks. It was only after repeated contact that Diana Cojocari went to Bailey Middle School to report her daughter's disappearance on December 15.

According to an arrest sheet from the Mecklenburg County Arrest Processing Center, Diana Cojocari did not report the disappearance because she was afraid that it would start a "conflict" between her and her husband.

Anyone with any information on Madalina Cojocari's disappearance is urged to get in touch with the Cornelius Police Department at 704-892-7773 or with the FBI.