The baffling disappearance of 12-year-old Madalina Cojocari from her Cornelius, North Carolina home in November 2022 continues to raise questions. Authorities have released information piecemeal, painting a confusing picture of the events leading up to and following the sixth-grader's vanishing.

Surveillance footage shows Madalina exiting her school bus on November 21, 2022, at approximately 4:59 p.m. This is the last confirmed sighting of the young girl. Disturbingly, her mother, Diana Cojocari, and stepfather, Christopher Palmiter, waited until December 15th to report her missing.

Unsealed search warrants have revealed intriguing details. A text message sent by Diana Cojocari on December 2nd suggests she was with Madalina after the girl's disappearance from the public eye. Two days later, Cojocari was seen in the North Carolina mountains, claiming to be searching for her daughter. Furthermore, on December 3rd, she was observed at a Hickory, North Carolina service station getting an oil change. While children's toys were present in the vehicle, Madalina was not.

Adding another layer to the mystery, surveillance photos from December 16th, provided by the Sugar Mountain Police Department, appear to show Madalina with a man resembling Octavian Cebanu, a blood relative. Warrant applications further disclose that Diana Cojocari contacted Cebanu prior to Madalina's disappearance, seeking assistance in “smuggling” both herself and her daughter out of their home due to alleged marital problems with Palmiter.

Both Cojocari and Palmiter have been arrested and charged with failure to report a missing child. They maintain they have no knowledge of Madalina’s location. However, recorded jail calls have hinted at financial irregularities, with discussions about large sums of cash and the possibility that Madalina was given away for money. Authorities continue to investigate, seeking access to financial records, electronic devices, and other personal belongings. The search for Madalina Cojocari remains ongoing.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the Cornelius Police Department at 704-892-7773 or the FBI.