Eleven-year-old Madalina Cojocari has been officially missing from Cornelius, North Carolina since December 15.
By then it had already been several weeks since she was last seen by the family, at the end of November.
The police in Cornelius are investigating the case together with the FBI.
– This is a serious matter with a child whose parents are obviously not telling us everything they know, says police captain Jennifer Thompson in a update Tuesday.
The school tried to reach the parents
Thompson says she knows the public has many questions about the case.
– We also have questions and are doing everything we can, with the right legal authority, to get these answers, she says.
SEARCH ACTION: Search crews have, among other things, been looking for Madalina at Lake Cornelius. Photo: FBI Charlotte
The police captain says that staff at Madalina’s school repeatedly tried to contact her parents when she did not show up at school at the end of November.
“Finally, on December 15, Madalina’s mother walked into the school and said her daughter was missing,” says Thompson.
Since then, police have followed up around 250 leads across states and around the world, interviewed hundreds of people, and gone door to door in hundreds of homes.
So far no luck.
Mother and stepfather arrested
Madalina’s mother (37) and stepfather (60) were arrested two days after their daughter was reported missing, and are charged with not notifying the police quickly enough.
The mother has said that she last saw her daughter around 10pm on 23 November. according to ABC News she told the police that her daughter then went to sleep in her room.
When the mother went into her room at 11:30 the next day, her daughter was gone.
LOVES HORSES: Horses are Madalina’s great passion. Photo: FBI Charlotte
The mother also says that she and the stepfather argued on the evening in question, and that she waited to notify the police that her daughter was missing for fear of creating conflict with the stepfather.
The stepfather, for his part, has said that he asked the mother where her daughter was when he came home from a drive the day after the argument, and repeatedly after that.
Loves horses
The FBI has released several photos of Madalina, as well as a video of her on a bus on November 21. These are the last photos that exist of her.
This is the last time investigators have independent confirmation of when Madalina was last seen. She got off the bus on 11-21-22, at 4:59 pm We are seeking additional witnesses outside of the family to narrow down the exact timeline of when she disappeared. #FindMadalina pic.twitter.com/dkStKHmjjB
— FBI Charlotte (@FBICharlotte) December 20, 2022
According to the FBI, Madalina loves horses, and they have also shared photos of her playing with plastic ponies on the beach, and with a real pony.
They encourage anyone who may have useful information in the case to get in touch.
Madalina may have been wearing jeans, pink, purple and white Adidas shoes, a white t-shirt and jacket when she disappeared.
