Madalina Cojocari: Authorities expand search for missing 11-year-old North Carolina girl
Madalina Cojocari (Credit: FBI)
CORNELIUS, N.C. - Federal and local authorities in North Carolina say they are expanding their search for a missing 11-year-old girl.
The FBI said Madalina Cojocari disappeared from her home on November 23 in Cornelius, North Carolina. She was last seen wearing jeans, pink, purple and white Adidas shoes, and a white t-shirt and jacket. She was reported missing to Bailey Middle School on December 15.
"As part of the normal investigative process, we are expanding our search area outside of the home where Madalina was last seen and that now includes Lake Cornelius," the Cornelius Police Department posted on Facebook Monday. "We are conducting additional land and water searches as a precautionary measure."
RELATED: FBI joins search for 11-year-old North Carolina girl as police arrest mother, stepfather
Over the weekend, Cornelius police arrested her stepfather, 60-year-old Christopher Palmiter, and her mother, Diana Cojocari, for failing to report the disappearance of a child.
Cornelius police arrested stepfather, Christopher Palmiter, 60, and her mother, Diana Cojocari, for failing to report the disappearance of missing 11-year-old Madalina Cojocari. (Mecklenburg County Detention Center)
The parents are being held at the Mecklenburg County Detention Center.
If you have any information concerning the whereabouts of Madalina Cojocari, please contact the Cornelius Police Department at (704) 892-7773. You may also contact your local FBI office, the nearest American Embassy or Consulate, or you can submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.
This story was reported from Los Angeles.