(NewsNation) — It’s been three years since the disappearance of North Carolina girl Madalina Cojocari, and there are still no answers as to her whereabouts.
Madalina was 11 and in the sixth grade when she was last seen, getting off her school bus in Cornelius, North Carolina, on Nov. 21, 2022.
She wasn’t reported missing until December, after her mother, Diana Cojocari, showed up at her school for a truancy meeting without Madalina and said her daughter was missing.
According to Cojocari, she had last seen Madalina on Nov. 23, 2022. Madalina’s stepfather, Christopher Palmiter, left the same day for a trip to Michigan and said he had not seen Madalina that day.
Cojocari waited until Palmiter returned on Nov. 26, 2022, to ask if he knew where Madalina was, but neither parent reported her missing to police.
On Dec. 17, 2022, both Cojocari and Palmiter were arrested for failing to report Madalina missing. Both served time in prison for the offense.
Investigators later named Cojocari a suspect in the case, although it is still not clear where Madalina, now 14, might be. Police previously stated that they believe she is still in the U.S. and have no evidence to suggest she’s not alive.
Court documents show Cojocari burned items from the home, including a mattress, carpet and clothing, in the backyard days after Madalina disappeared. Documents also said that she paid a priest in her native Moldova $4,000 in the weeks following Madalina’s disappearance after speaking to him on the phone.
Other court documents showed that Cojocari had traveled through Hickory, North Carolina, in the state’s western mountains, after Madalina disappeared. Investigators said surveillance videos taken in the region in December of 2022 showed a girl “consistent” with Madalina’s appearance and that she was accompanied by someone matching the description of her only known relative in the U.S.
Other court documents showed that Palmiter had told family members that Cojocari had a lot of cash on her, and he did not know where she got it.
Cojocari and Palmiter divorced this year. After being released from prison, Cojocari returned to Moldova, which does not have an extradition agreement with the U.S.
Madalina Cojocari was 4 feet, 1 inch tall and weighed 90 pounds when she disappeared. She has brown hair and brown eyes and was last seen wearing jeans; pink, purple and white Adidas shoes; and a white T-shirt and jacket. Anyone with information on her case should call the Cornelius Police Department at (704) 892-7773.