The mother and stepfather of a missing 11-year-old North Carolina girl are in the custody of the FBI. The Cornelius Police Department in North Carolina said in a statement that Diana Cojocari, 37, and Christopher Palmiter, 60, were arrested on Sunday for failure to report the disappearance of a child. Both are being held at the Mecklenburg County Detention Center.

Their daughter, 11-year-old Madalina Cojocari, has been missing since Nov. 23. She was last seen at her home in Cornelius and missed about three weeks of school before the school was notified by her parents on Thursday.  North Carolina law requires parents or guardians to report the disappearance of any child less than 16 years old within a reasonable time. A child is considered to have disappeared when the person supervising them has not seen them or had contact with them for more than 24 hours.

The FBI said that Madalina, who is a student at Bailey Middle School in Cornelius, weighs approximately 90 pounds and is about 4 feet and 10 inches tall. Madalina has brown eyes and brown hair and was last seen wearing jeans, a white t-shirt, a jacket and pink, purple and white Adidas shoes.

Anyone with information about Madalina Cojocari are asked to contact Cornelius Police Department at 704-892-7773 or 1-800-CALL-FBI

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