Who is Madalina Cojocari’s father? Missing 11-year-old girl’s mother claims her husband ‘put family in danger’

A month after North Carolina sixth-grader Madalina Cojocari disappeared, her mother told law enforcement that she believed that her daughter’s stepfather, Christopher Palmiter "put the family in danger."

Madalina Cojocari, a sixth grader at Bailey Middle School, was last seen at her North Carolina home on November 23, 2022. However, the 11-year-old’s mother, Diana Cojocari and stepfather, Christopher Palmiter, did not report her missing to the school’s resource officer until December 15. They were both charged with failing to report the disappearance of a child to law enforcement.

Diana Cojocari told law enforcement that she did not notify the police immediately as she didn't want the investigations into her daughter’s disappearance to create contention between her and her husband.

Diana reportedly had an argument with her husband, who subsequently left their home for days on the night she last saw her daughter.

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Officials search Madalina Cojocari's home after her mother makes shocking statements against her stepfather

The baffling statement against Madalina Cojocari’s stepfather, Christopher Palmiter, 60, surfaced on Wednesday, December 21, as law enforcement arrived at their home again to conduct a search after discovering a secret area boarded up with plywood.

Madalina’s mother told law enforcement that her husband, Christopher Palmiter, reportedly left their home and drove to a family home in Michigan after they two argued on the night she last saw her daughter on November 23 before she went to bed.

Meanwhile, her stepfather told the police that he hasn't seen his stepdaughter since a week before his trip to Michigan on November 23.

Diana Cojocari, who had not seen her daughter since then, assumed that her daughter was being hidden by her husband. However, she did not ask Palmiter about her daughter’s whereabouts until November 26, despite not having seen her for days.

The duo only reported their daughter missing after a Bailey Middle School resource officer and a counsellor showed up at their house on December 12 to check on their daughter, who was absent from school for weeks.

Authorities are trying to find a connection in the convoluted timelines provided by the missing girl’s parents, and have asked the public for their assistance to narrow down the precise time Madalina Cojocari disappeared.

Cornelius Police said:

“We are seeking additional witnesses outside of the family to narrow down the exact timeline of when she disappeared. As previously released, Charlotte-Mecklenburg School employees contacted Diana Cojocari on several occasions to inquire about Madalina being absent from school."

They added:

"After repeated contact, Diana Cojocari went to Bailey Middle School on December 15, 2022, and reported to the School Resource Officer, Madalina was missing.”

The FBI, who are assisting the Cornelius Police Department in the investigation of the missing girl, released a video showing Madalina getting off of a school bus shortly before 5 pm on November 21.