Madalina Cojocari Update: Police Say Missing Girl's Parents Aren't Cooperating In 'Serious Case'

Police in North Carolina face major challenges in the search for missing 11-year-old Madalina Cojocari.

Cornelius Police Department Captain Jennifer Thompson shared an update on the girl's disappearance on Tuesday in a Facebook video. Cornelius is a suburb of Charlotte, North Carolina's most populated city.

"Over the past 12 days, the Cornelius Police Department has led a massive investigation to find 11-year-old Madalina Cojocari," Thompson said. "One of the challenges in this case, simply put, we were not notified she was gone, a delay of three weeks."

Despite the massive search, police may have made more progress if Madalina's mother, Diana Cojocari, and stepfather, Christopher Palmiter, shared more details with the police.

Diana Cojocari and Palmiter were arrested on Dec. 17 for failing to report Madalina as a missing person to law enforcement. Cojocari is reportedly being held on a $250,000 bond, while Palmiter is detained on a $200,000 bond.

Madalina was last seen on Nov. 23 wearing jeans, pink, purple, and white Adidas shoes, and a white t-shirt and jacket, according to the missing poster on Charlotte's FBI website.

The search for Madalina has not been confined to just the United States. "Investigators have developed and followed nearly 250 leads spanning across state lines and across the globe," Thompson said.

Authorities have also scoured the community for any leads and have gone to at least 245 homes, hoping to find answers to Madalina's disappearance.

"We canvassed businesses and scoured through hours of surveillance video from all over the area. We also led land and water searches around Lake Cornelius as a precautionary measure," Thompson explained.

"Investigators obtained multiple search warrants for Madalina's home to make sure we legally gathered each and every possible piece of evidence to find Madalina."

"This is a serious case of a child whose parents clearly are not telling us everything they know," Thompson said.

"Please call us if you have eyewitness information," she encouraged the public.