The mother of a missing North Carolina girl is a suspect in the girl’s November 2022 disappearance, police said Tuesday.
Madalina Cojokari, who was 11 years old at the time, was last seen getting off a school bus at 4:59 pm on November 21, 2022.
“(Madalina’s) mother, Diana Cojokari, is considered a suspect in her disappearance,” Cornelius police said in a Facebook statement. “We want to find Madalina. This has been our top priority since we learned she was missing.”
Cojokari pleaded guilty in May to failing to report a missing child. He admitted to police that he did not tell police that Madalina was missing until Dec. 15, 2022, and that he had not seen his daughter since Nov. 23, 2022.
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The latest poster released by the Cornelius Police Department regarding Madalina Kojakari, a girl who has been missing since getting off a school bus in November 2022. (Cornelius Police Department)
Police officials have not provided details about why they believe Cojocari is now a suspect, but no arrests or charges have been made.
Timothy Cannady, an attorney not involved in the case, speculated in an interview: WCNC Charlotte About the potential new developments that have led police to officially designate Cojokari as a suspect.
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“Maybe they have some new evidence,” Candy said, which could “show that not only did she not report her daughter’s disappearance, but that she actually played an active role in her daughter’s disappearance.”
“If they (Kocakari’s parents) are charged with, say, murder, or some kind of murder, or some kind of kidnapping, then they could essentially be tried twice or be charged with other crimes,” he told local media.
Authorities in December arrested and charged 11-year-old Madalina’s parents, Diana Cojokari and Christopher Palmiter, with failing to report a missing child to police after the girl disappeared on or about Nov. 23, 2022, from her hometown of Cornelius, North Carolina, just north of Charlotte. (Mecklenburg County Jail)
Cojokari and her husband, Christopher Palmiter, Madalina’s father-in-law, did not report Madalina’s disappearance to police until Dec. 15, 2022, several weeks after she was last seen.
The couple admitted to police that they last saw Madalina on the evening of November 23, 2022, at their home.
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Authorities have searched from the Charlotte area to the mountains of western North Carolina for clues, but have found no sign of the missing girl for nearly two years.
Now, Cornelius police are investigating a woman who was supposed to be caring for her daughter in her own backyard.
WATCH: Interview with Police Chief Cornelius
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Police urge the public to continue sharing photos of Madalina on social media and to provide detectives with any information by calling 704-892-7773.
Fox News Digital’s Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.
