Special Agent W.C. Cannon with the North Carolina Bureau of Investigation claims that the girl's mother, Diana Cojocari, suggested she was with her daughter in a text sent on Dec. 2.
It has now been eight months since 12-year-old Madalina Cojocari went missing, and a newly unsealed court document is adding further mystery to the girl's disappearance.
In an application for a search warrant filed just four days after Madalina was reported missing on Dec. 19, Special Agent W.C. Cannon with the North Carolina Bureau of Investigation claims that girl's mother, Diana Cojocari, "indicated" she was with her daughter in a text sent on Dec. 2.
Police say Diana had initially said that she last saw Madalina on Nov. 23 at their home in North Carolina, 10 days before she allegedly sent that text.
Cannon also claims in his application that Madalina was allegedly spotted in mid-December with her and Diana's only known relative.
Inside Edition Digital obtained the warrant, which Cannon filed in order to get access to a Capital One account Madalina's stepfather, Christopher Palmiter, opened the month before the young girl went missing.
MADALINA COJOCARI INVESTIGATION - APPLICATION FOR A SEARCH WARRANT
“In a text message on December 2, Diana Cojocari indicated she was in the presence of the missing child,” the filing claims.
That filing also says that on Dec. 4, “Diana traveled towards the NC mountains claiming to be searching for Madalina.”
Then, one day after Madalina's mother finally reported her missing, there was a possible sighting of the girl.
"On December 16, Sugar Mountain Police Department provided surveillance photographs of a man and a young female," Cannon writes in his application. "The man in the surveillance images was physically consistent in appearance to Octavian Gebanu, the only blood relative known to live in the United States. The young female in the surveillance images was physically consistent with the missing child, Madalina Cojocari."
This might explain why the search for Madalina moved from her home to western North Carolina in late December, with authorities focusing their efforts on the densely forested but sparsely populated region in the Appalachian Mountains.
Inside Edition Digital previously reported that multiple residents informed investigators that they spotted Diana's car in the days after Madalina's disappearance.
A photo of Madalina posing at the summit of Mount Mitchell in Yancey County which Diana posted to her social media accounts confirmed that the girl had at least visited this area of the state before she went missing, which is located three hours from her home in the town of Cornelius.
Those search efforts did not get underway until almost three weeks after the young girl disappeared because her mother and stepfather did not report her missing until after the school inquired about the sixth grader's truancy, according to the initial affidavit filed in the case.
Local law enforcement and the FBI both continue to classify this as a missing person or kidnapping investigation, while the girl's mother and stepfather remain behind bars after being charged on Dec. 17 with failure to report the disappearance of a child.
A grand jury has since indicted the pair and they will appear in court next month to formally enter a plea.
They both claim to have no information about Madalina's disappearance. Octavian Gebanu has not been charged with any crime at this time.
Any individual who might have information that could help detectives should contact the Cornelius Police Department at 704-892-7773.
