WORRYING

Police Expand Search for Missing North Carolina 11-Year-Old

The girl’s stepfather and mother have been arrested after allegedly failing to report her missing.

Police in North Carolina have stepped up search efforts for 11-year-old Madalina Cojocari, who vanished in late November but wasn’t reported missing until weeks later. On Monday, search crews scoured Lake Cornelius for any sign of the little girl, with the FBI calling it a “precautionary measure.” Cojocari was last seen at home in Cornelius on Nov. 23, but police say she wasn’t reported missing until Dec. 14. Both her mother, Diana Cojocari, and stepfather, Christopher Palmiter, have been arrested and charged with failing to report her disappearance in a timely manner. At Palmiter’s first court appearance on Monday, prosecutors revealed police weren’t even made aware of the 11-year-old’s disappearance until a school resource officer sounded the alarm, WCCB Charlotte reported. Prosecutors said the girl’s parents haven’t provided any explanation for her disappearance, according to the report.