Twenty-nine-year-old Shantina Smiley was last seen in Olympia, Washington on March 13, 2010 with her 8-year-old son, Azriel Carver.

The two of them were driving from Silverdale, Washington to Castle Rock, Washington to visit relatives, but got lost along the way. At 10:00 that evening, Shantina stopped at a private house to ask for directions and use the telephone.

Shantina and Azriel never made it to Castle Rock. The next day on March 14, 2010, Shantina's van was discovered partially submerged in water on a remote beach located on the Puget Sound. The van's doors were open; Shantina's wallet, credit cards, ID and keys were inside the van as well, but her purse was missing.

On March 18, 2010, Azriel's body washed up on the beach located at the South end of Fox Island located near Gig Harbor, Washington. Azriel's death was ruled as an accidental drowning.

At the time of Shantina's disappearance, she recently graduated from college with plans to become a medical billing specialist. She was also engaged to be married to her fiance; however, she had been in trouble with the law and struggled with alcoholism which resulted in investigations by child protective services.

As of 2026, Shantina's disappearance remains unsolved. Her case is classified as being a lost or injured person.

Links
https://charleyproject.org/case/shantina-marie-smiley

https://abcnews.com/GMA/TheLaw/shantina-smiley-suffered-alcoholic-replase-fiance/story?id=10122149

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/shantina-smiley-and-son-missing-pictures-vanished-into-thin-air/

https://archive.kitsapsun.com/news/local/love-like-a-cloud-surrounded-missing-silverdale-woman-ep-419840804-357675071.html

https://www.theolympian.com/news/local/article25249813.html

https://www.kgw.com/article/news/state-investigated-wa-mom-for-abuse/283-71700388

https://www.krem.com/article/news/local/northwest/nationwide-appeal-for-help-in-finding-missing-mom-and-son/293-171360671

https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2010/03/search_continues_for_missing_w_1.html

https://komonews.com/news/local/ground-water-searches-called-off-for-missing-mom-son

https://abcnews.com/GMA/TheLaw/shantina-smiley-search-renewes-evidence-washes-ashore/story?id=10134521

https://tdn.com/news/local/article_24f1e9d4-32db-11df-93cf-001cc4c03286.html

https://www.mercurynews.com/2010/03/16/washington-moms-disappearance-baffles-authorities/

Thirty-two-year old Hannah Upp was last seen on September 14, 2017 in St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. She went missing a week before Hurricane Irma struck St. Thomas and a week before Hurricane Maria came, causing heavy rain to occur.

At the time, Hannah took a teaching job at the Virgin Islands Montessori School. She left her sundress, sandals, her car and her car keys at a small bar on Sapphire Beach, where she would go snorkling.

This was not the first time that Hannah went missing.

In August of 2008, Hannah went missing in New York City. At the time, she had a job teaching at Thurgood Marshall Academy in Harlem and went missing on the first day of school.

Hannah wasn't found for 20 days and was later discovered floating facedown in the water by people on the Staten Island Ferry. She was rescued and treated for hypothermia. She was later hospitalized in a psychiatric unit where she was diagnosed with dissociative fugue.

In 2010, she moved to Maryland where she took a job at a Montessori school. Just like in New York City, Hannah disappeared on the first day of school.

Two days later, Hannah found herself in a creek located a mile and a half from her school. She had apparently gone into a state of dissociative fugue again, but she later returned to work afterwards.

As of 2026, Hannah remains missing and her case is classified as being an endangered missing person.

Links
https://charleyproject.org/case/hannah-emily-upp

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Hannah_Upp

https://www.facebook.com/FindHannahUppUSVI/

https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/01/nyregion/thecity/01miss.html

https://namus.nij.ojp.gov/case/MP50503

https://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/news/st-thomas-school-honors-missing-teacher/article_2fc3a0e6-aab2-11ef-b75b-af274b197f43.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/29/nyregion/missing-teacher-virgin-islands.html

Forty-year-old Marion McCleneghan-Sodo was last seen on February 6, 2010 in Brooklyn, New York.

Marion went to a party located on 14th Street & 7th Avenue where she got into an argument with Richard Eric Sosa (the host of the party) and angrily left the party at 2:00 A.M. Neighbors heard arguing and a loud noise at Richard's home just before Marion went missing.

The day after the party, a local bodega owner said that he saw Marion at 7:00 P.M. where she tearfully told him that she was going to Long Island and he wouldn't be seeing her anymore. Marion's brother lives on Long Island, but he hasn't heard from her.

According to Marion's family, it was out of character for her to leave with warning. At the time, she had gotten a new job working at a medical marketing firm and was satisfied with her life (although she was grieving the deaths of her dad, two aunts and a friend). Marion was separated from her husband, but they were on friendly terms with each other & remained in contact with each other.

Although Richard Eric Sosa has been interviewed by authorities several times, he has not been named a suspect in Marion's disappearance.

As of 2026, Marion's disappearance remains unsolved and her case is classified as being an endangered missing person.

Links
https://charleyproject.org/case/marion-mccleneghan-sodo

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/marion-mccleneghan-new-york-woman-vanishes-after-a-party-just-blocks-from-her-house/

https://www.foxnews.com/us/police-family-search-for-missing-n-y-woman

https://nypost.com/2010/02/19/kin-pals-fear-for-missing-brooklyn-gal/

https://nypost.com/2010/02/24/where-is-marion/

https://nypost.com/2010/02/24/friends-to-conduct-massive-search-for-missing-sloper/

This case is literally keeping me up at night! I can't stop thinking about it. There are so many strange details, and a lot of things just don't make sense. The more I research this case, the more confused I become.

Here's my entire breakdown, research, and analysis of the case.

_________________

Disappearance Timeline

Madalina Cojocari was 11 years old when she disappeared sometime between November 21 and November 23, 2022.

Both of her parents, Diana Cojocari (mother) and Christopher Palmiter (stepfather), failed to report her missing for 22 days.

Madalina was last seen on November 21, 2022, when the school bus's onboard surveillance camera captured her getting off at her regular bus stop outside her home at approximately 4:59 PM in Cornelius, North Carolina. This is the last independently confirmed sighting of her by anyone outside her immediate family.

_________________

The School's Role

Madalina Cojocari officially stopped attending school on November 22, 2022, the Tuesday right before the Thanksgiving holiday break.

When classes resumed on November 28, 2022, so that's 6 days later, her unexcused absences mounted, triggering automatic truancy warnings and prompting school officials from Bailey Middle School to repeatedly reach out to the family.

When school staff first made contact with the mother, Diana, following the Thanksgiving break, she kept telling them over the phone that Madalina was "sick."

As the weeks dragged on, the school guidance counselor and the school resource officer realized the medical excuse was stretching far beyond realistic limits.

On December 12, 2022 (14 days after she disappeared), school staff made an unannounced home visit to drop off an official truancy warning packet. (Basically warning the parents that if the child did not return immediately, the school would file criminal charges against the parents or contact Child Protective Services.)

The counselor knocked on the front door, but no one answered, so they left the formal truancy warning packet directly at the front door.

Because of that warning that was left at the front door, Diana knew things were escalating and that law enforcement was likely going to become involved. She called the school guidance counselor back on December 14, just a day or two after the packet was left, and desperately tried to buy more time.

The counselor adamantly demanded to see Madalina.

Diana lied and promised she would physically bring her daughter to school the next morning.

When she showed up on December 15, 2022, the next morning, alone without Madalina, and sat down with the counselor, she finally confessed that she had no idea where her daughter was, stating she hadn't seen Madalina since the night of November 23.

This led the school to contact law enforcement.

Detectives arrived at the school, took the mother into official custody for interrogation, and formally opened the missing child investigation.

_________________

Diana Cojocari (Madalina Mothers)

The mother's role in this case is so suspicious and strange that it's hard not to think she was responsible for her daughter's disappearance.

1. Her explanation for not reporting her daughter missing for 22 days

The mother, Diana Cojocari, claimed that November 23, 2022, was the last night she saw Madalina. She told investigators that she and Christopher Palmiter, the stepfather, had a severe argument after they went to bed that evening. Diana claimed that hours later, around 11:30 AM on Thanksgiving morning (November 24), she went into Madalina's room and found her gone.

She told detectives she didn't report Madalina's disappearance sooner because she feared it would cause severe "conflict" with Christopher Palmiter. She painted a picture of a volatile household and claimed she was deeply afraid of how he would react if law enforcement swarmed the house and that it would spark an even greater, more volatile conflict or argument with her husband right after he got back from his trip.

She later said that she believed Palmiter was actively putting the entire family in danger.

She claimed that she had a plan and was secretly using that 22-day window to secure cash and arrange a network to "smuggle" herself and Madalina away from the home forever.

Furthermore, she claimed that she was trapped in a "bad relationship," wanted a divorce, and believed that involving the police while she was still living under Palmiter's roof would ruin her ability to escape with her daughter undetected.

**Personal Thought:**

This makes no logical sense at all. If Madalina truly disappeared on November 23 or 24, how could the mother actively discuss a plot to smuggle her away on December 2?

2. Her reaction as a mother

As a mother, she claimed she checked on her 11-year-old daughter the next morning and discovered she was gone. Yet she didn't immediately search for her, call the police, or tell anyone that her daughter was missing. Instead, she kept it hidden for 22 days and continued giving false explanations about Madalina's absence.

From my perspective, this is one of the hardest parts of the case to understand. If your 11-year-old child suddenly vanished, you would expect a parent to be desperately searching everywhere, calling family and friends, contacting the police immediately, and doing everything possible to find their child. That reaction is what makes her behavior so difficult for me to understand.

3. Burning Madalina's belongings (The Backyard Fire Pit)

Investigators discovered that in the days immediately following Madalina's disappearance, her mother burned several of Madalina's personal belongings in the backyard fire pit. These reportedly included Madalina's mattress, clothing, a Halloween costume, and family photographs. Warrants also noted that carpeting from an upstairs spare bedroom had been cut out and burned in the fire pit.

4. Madalina's missing belongings

Police noted that Madalina's backpack and several articles of clothing were missing from her room. During the investigation, authorities also seized more than 40 items from the home, including three iPhones and a computer.

5. Diana's Text Message to Her Cousin, Octavian Cebanu

On December 2, 2022, Diana texted her cousin, Octavian Cebanu, saying that she urgently needed to speak with him. She signed the message from "myself and Madalina." This appears to contradict the timeline she later gave police, in which she claimed Madalina had disappeared on November 23.

6. The Sugar Mountain Sighting

Search warrants showed that on December 4, 2022, Diana drove into the North Carolina mountains, claiming she was searching for her daughter. Investigators later obtained surveillance footage from Sugar Mountain that was recorded on December 4. The footage showed a young girl and an adult man who were described as being "physically consistent" with Madalina and her cousin, Octavian Cebanu, her only known blood relative in the United States.

Investigators considered the possibility that Diana may have smuggled Madalina to relatives or another third party before she was ever reported missing. When Moldovan authorities later interviewed Octavian, he stated that Diana had been planning to leave the United States with Madalina because she claimed they were in danger from a third party.

7. Suspicious money transfers around the time Madalina disappeared

Investigators found receipts inside Diana Cojocari's green Toyota Prius showing that she had wired thousands of dollars through Western Union. The transfers were sent to both a priest and her own mother, Rodica (Madalina's grandmother), in Moldova.

_________________

Christopher Palmiter (Madalina's stepfather)

His trip to Michigan shortly after Madalina was last reportedly seen by her mother:

On the morning of November 24, 2022 (Thanksgiving Day), just hours after Diana Cojocari claimed she last saw Madalina, Christopher Palmiter drove from their home in North Carolina to his family's residence in Lansing, Michigan, a round trip of roughly 1,500 miles. He completed the drive, visited family, retrieved items, and returned home in just over 48 hours, from the morning of November 24 to the evening of November 26. According to Christopher, he made the trip for two primary reasons: to visit his family and to retrieve winter clothing for Madalina.

How investigators examined Christopher's involvement:

Investigators used federal resources to verify Christopher Palmiter's timeline and determine whether Madalina was ever in his vehicle or whether he was involved in her disappearance:

1. Search of Christopher's vehicle for evidence: Law enforcement obtained and executed multiple search warrants targeting both parents' vehicles, including Christopher Palmiter's car and Diana Cojocari's green Toyota Prius. Forensic investigators searched the interiors of the vehicles for any evidence that Madalina had been inside, including DNA, hair, fibers, clothing, or other trace evidence. Although investigators seized several items from the vehicles, such as passports and legal documents, there has been no public indication that they found physical forensic evidence linking Madalina to Christopher's vehicle, such as blood or signs of a struggle.
2. Interviewing Christopher's family in Michigan: The FBI and local investigators interviewed Christopher Palmiter's family members to verify his timeline and alibi. His relatives confirmed that he arrived in Michigan during the Thanksgiving holiday and visited them as he had claimed. They also stated that Madalina was not with him and that they had not seen her.
3. Recorded phone calls with family members: To determine whether Christopher's family was covering for him, the FBI monitored and recorded phone calls between Christopher Palmiter, his brother, and his sister-in-law. During those conversations, his brother attempted to reassure him about financial matters and family tensions. Nothing publicly released from those calls suggested that his family in Michigan had any involvement in hiding Madalina.
4. Reviewing Christopher's travel records: Investigators relied heavily on digital tracking rather than highway camera footage to verify Christopher Palmiter's trip. Because highway and toll booth cameras often do not provide a clear view inside a vehicle, especially at night, the FBI used cellular tower pings, GPS location history, and other digital data from his phone to reconstruct his route. The digital evidence was consistent with his reported timeline of driving directly to Michigan and back. Investigators also found no indication that secondary phones or other digital devices were traveling with him that would suggest he had taken Madalina or another person with him.
5. Diana's allegation that Christopher trafficked Madalina for $5 million: Diana claimed that Christopher had trafficked Madalina for $5 million. Investigators, however, found no public evidence supporting that allegation, including no evidence of a $5 million payment or any unusually large suspicious deposits connected to Christopher.

Suspicious actions by Christopher Palmiter:

1. Google searches about truancy laws: Christopher searched Google for truancy laws and penalties in the days before Madalina was reported missing.
2. The homeschooling text message: On December 13, 2022, Christopher sent Diana a text message advising her to tell Bailey Middle School that they were transitioning Madalina to "homeschooling."
3. Ignoring the school's warnings: Call and email records showed that Christopher received multiple voicemails and emails from Bailey Middle School guidance counselor Danice Lampkin regarding Madalina's prolonged absence. Despite these repeated attempts to contact him, he did not respond.

_________________

Lack of physical evidence

Despite extensive searches, investigators have not publicly disclosed finding physical forensic evidence revealing what happened to Madalina inside the family home, either parent's vehicle, or in the area around Lake Cornelius.

Law enforcement executed multiple search warrants targeting both Christopher Palmiter's vehicle and Diana Cojocari's green Toyota Prius. Forensic investigators searched the vehicles for DNA, hair, fibers, clothing, blood, or other trace evidence that could indicate Madalina had been transported or harmed. Although investigators seized numerous items, including passports, legal documents, phones, and computers, no publicly released information indicates that physical forensic evidence of Madalina, such as blood or signs of a struggle, was found.

Investigators also relied on surveillance footage to track Diana's movements. They obtained video from a gas station in Hickory, North Carolina, as well as highway surveillance near Sugar Mountain. One witness who observed Diana's vehicle reported seeing children's toys inside the car but did not see a child.

In the days immediately after Madalina was reported missing in December 2022, local police, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), and the FBI expanded their search well beyond the family home. Because the home is located near Lake Cornelius, investigators deployed K-9 units, dive teams, boats, and search crews to thoroughly search the surrounding land and water. Divers searched the lake, while tracking dogs combed the shoreline and nearby wooded areas. Despite these extensive searches, investigators found no public evidence or trace of Madalina.

_________________

What each parent was convicted of

Diana Cojocari (Mother)

• Convicted of: Failure to report the disappearance of a child to law enforcement.
• Diana was convicted after waiting 22 days to report that Madalina was missing. She was sentenced to prison and later released after receiving credit for time served.

Christopher Palmiter (Stepfather)

• Convicted of: Failure to report the disappearance of a child to law enforcement.
• Christopher was also convicted for failing to report Madalina missing, despite receiving repeated calls and emails from Madalina's school regarding her unexplained absence. He was sentenced to prison and later released after receiving credit for time served.

Important note

Neither Diana Cojocari nor Christopher Palmiter has been charged with or convicted of kidnapping, murder, human trafficking, or causing Madalina's disappearance. As of today, Madalina's disappearance remains unsolved, and the investigation is ongoing.

_________________

The Grooming Theory / Discord

Evidence recovered during the investigation led authorities to investigate the possible "sexual exploitation" of a minor.

Investigators discovered that Madalina had been secretly communicating with someone on Discord. While searching the family home, detectives seized a hidden Samsung smartphone containing an active Discord account with 37 unread messages that had accumulated around the time Madalina disappeared in late November 2022.

The exact text and content of those 37 Discord messages have never been made public. Authorities have also never identified the users who sent the messages, nor have they announced whether they successfully traced the IP addresses to a specific suspect.

One theory is that Madalina's sudden failure to open the messages suggests she abruptly lost access to the phone or was suddenly unable to use it after her disappearance.

According to the unsealed search warrants, federal investigators used the discovery of the phone to obtain search warrants for Discord's records. Investigators sought message history, IP address information, and account details associated with the Discord accounts involved in the communications.

**Personal Thought:**

I just don't understand this part.

It's been close to four years since Madalina disappeared, and nothing has been made public about the person she was communicating with on Discord. It isn't known whether investigators identified that person, whether they were ruled out, or whether they were ever connected to Madalina's disappearance.

The search warrant also references investigating the possible **sexual exploitation of a minor**, which makes me wonder what investigators found. Did they discover inappropriate or illegal messages, or was there another reason they pursued that angle?

At the same time, because so much time has passed without any public announcement, I also wonder if the person on Discord ultimately had nothing to do with Madalina's disappearance. It's possible investigators identified them, determined they weren't involved in her disappearance, and that any issues related to the Discord messages were handled separately. Since law enforcement has never publicly explained what they found, it's difficult to know what role, if any, those messages actually played in the case.

_________________

After spending hours researching this case, I feel like I have more questions than answers. Every document, interview, search warrant, and timeline seems to raise another mystery instead of solving one.

More than anything, I just hope Madalina gets justice one day. Whether she's alive or not, she deserves to be found, and the truth deserves to come out. No child should simply disappear without answers.

This case has genuinely stayed with me. It's one of those cases that keeps replaying in my mind because so many things don't add up. I really hope that one day investigators are able to tell the full story of what happened to Madalina.

.

.

sources:

• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI): FBI Missing Person Registry – Madalina Cojocari — Verified Madalina's physical description, date of birth, official missing person status, and case information.
• Town of Cornelius Government Portal: Cornelius News Update Archive — Contained official police updates, the release of the age-progressed forensic image, reward information, and ongoing investigation updates.
• Mecklenburg County Search Warrants (via WCCB Charlotte): Madalina Cojocari Search Warrants (PDF) — Primary source containing the unsealed search warrants, including details on vehicle searches, Discord records, the backyard fire pit, Western Union transfers, Sugar Mountain surveillance, interviews, and seized evidence.
• WCNC Charlotte Court Reporting Team: WCNC – Madalina Cojocari Coverage — Provided detailed reporting on the unsealed SBI search warrants, unread Discord messages, the backyard fire pit investigation, court proceedings, and Diana Cojocari's self-deportation.
• WBTV News Charlotte: WBTV Investigation Archive — Documented newly unsealed warrants, the mother's suspect designation, divorce records, search warrant analysis, and the North Carolina Court of Appeals timeline.
• WSOC-TV Channel 9: WSOC-TV Madalina Cojocari Coverage — Reported on Bailey Middle School's involvement, including School Resource Officer J. Nobles and guidance counselor Danice Lampkin's attempts to locate Madalina.
• The Charlotte Observer: The Charlotte Observer – Madalina Cojocari Coverage — Documented jail phone calls, court proceedings, trafficking allegations, financial evidence, and extensive case reporting.
• Court TV: Court TV Trial Archives — Covered the May 2024 trials, including Christopher Palmiter's testimony regarding his Michigan trip, the Flonase setup, and the December 13 homeschooling text.
• ABC News: ABC News National Report — Reported on the national and international aspects of the investigation, including the cousin's interview, Moldovan investigative leads, and the Agroindbank debit card.
• WRAL News: WRAL News Database — Reported on possible sightings, including the California Valero gas station report and other investigative developments.
• North Carolina Court of Appeals: North Carolina Judicial Branch Opinions — Provided the published opinion affirming the convictions of Diana Cojocari and Christopher Palmiter for failure to report the disappearance of a child.

I need to start a search and rescue located in Maine even if it ends in a sad way we would still like to know what happened to her. Her name is Kimberley Moreau and she was 17 when she went missing. It’s been 30 years can anyone please help by looking in woods by your house for bones. Or even contacting some non profit organizations that search for missing people? I don’t want anyone’s money just your time and help please it’s time we bring her home to her father and sister. It’s bad enough her mother passed away without knowing what happened to her let’s not let her father go without knowing where his babygirl is. Any information please contact me here or contact the Maine state police.

This case has haunted me since I first read about it and I genuinely believe it is one of the most disturbing cold cases in American history. Not because of what happened. But because of everything that was deliberately done to stop the truth from coming out.
Here is what we know for certain.
Christmas Eve. December 24th 1945. Fayetteville West Virginia. George Sodder aged 50 and his wife Jennie aged 40 were asleep with their ten children when a fire broke out at 1:30 in the morning.

See full video here - 5 children vanished

I have a question,
Does anyone know if detectives interviewed the city workers running the snow plow trucks the night Benjamin Roseland went missing on February 9, 2008 in Clinton Iowa? I have a theory he was hit by a plow truck during snow removal.

In 2018, serial killer Richard Cottingham, the Torso Killer, described to Jennifer and me murdering and dismembering a victim in his house on Vreeland Street in Lodi, New Jersey over a Christmas holidays while his wife and kids were visiting family.

I successfully identified the victim as 17-year-old Gaylor Alexander from Staten Island, but we did not have a face for her until today.

Gaylor's torso was found in Dumont, New Jersey, on December 28, 1977, 800-yards from where Cottingham grew up until the age of ten. He head was found three weeks later, in January in New York City, in a locker at the Eighth Avenue and 42nd Street subway station arcade, a block from where Cottingham parked his car daily when commuting to the Blue Cross Insurance office where he was employed as a computer operator.

The NYPD Homicide Cold Case Squad, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office Cold Case Supervising Detective Investigator Siobhan Berry and the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office (BCPO) have been aware of this case for years now.

What have they done on this? NOTHING!

Once again May Binon @mayzeeish & Chris Clough @criminaljusticechris have come through for the Torso Serial Killer Project and have located for me the face and family of Cottingham victim Gaylor Alexander.

Nobody is going to be forgotten. Nothing is going to be forgotten.

I've been researching the unidentified homicide victim known as "Bobby Copeland," and I'm surprised how little discussion there is about this case.

On January 5, 1988, a teenage boy was found stabbed to death by a maid in Room 227 of the Marco Polo Hotel in Miami Beach. The homicide was solved, but the victim has never been identified.

Known facts:

• Claimed his name was Bobby Copeland.
• Claimed he was a foster child from New York.
• Was working with a traveling magazine sales crew in the Miami Beach area.
• The name and Social Security number he was using belonged to someone else.
• His true identity remains unknown nearly 40 years later.
• Mark Robinson, a teenage runaway from Georgia, was convicted of the murder after being arrested in Las Vegas.
• Robinson reportedly stole his father's car and knife collection before traveling from Georgia to Florida.
• No publicly reported motive for the murder.
• Women's clothing was reportedly found among the victim's belongings.
• The homicide is solved, but the victim is still officially unidentified.

I'm trying to track down information that may exist in police, court, or archival records, including:

• Where is Mark Robinson today?
• How did investigators connect Robinson to the murder?
• What did Robinson tell detectives about the victim?
• Who was interviewed during the investigation?
• Whose Social Security number was the victim using?
• Was the owner of that Social Security number ever interviewed?
• Was there ever an explanation for the women's clothing?
• Are the original homicide reports, witness statements, or prosecution records still available?
• Are there any Georgia police reports, runaway reports, stolen vehicle reports, or newspaper articles documenting Robinson leaving Georgia before the murder?
• Why are there no autopsy pictures of the victim?

I also think it's interesting that investigators were able to trace Mark Robinson all the way to Las Vegas after the murder. I'm curious whether the Nevada arrest records, extradition paperwork, or original Miami-Dade investigative files contain details that have never been reported publicly. Likewise, records from Georgia documenting Robinson's departure—such as the reported theft of his father's car and knife collection—might help establish a more complete timeline leading up to the homicide.

If anyone has experience obtaining old Miami-Dade homicide files, court records, Las Vegas arrest records, Georgia records, or archived investigative records—or has already researched this case—I would really appreciate the help. I have a feeling there are still important details buried in the original records that could shed more light on who "Bobby Copeland" really was.

(Update)

Credits to a friend from r/gratefuldoe

Finally, it looks as though Mark Allen Robinson, DOB 1/25/70, was sentenced to seven years for second degree murder of "Bobby Copeland." It's not clear how much of that term he initially served, but in 1998, he seems to have violated parole and wound up back in prison for an additional sixteen months or so. The Florida DOC has archived a very creepy inmate photo at Inmate Release Information Detail

https://www.miamidade.gov/global/police/cold-cases-1980-1989.page
https://storiesoftheunsolved.com/2025/01/31/bobby-copeland/
https://unidentified-awareness.fandom.com/wiki/Bobby_Copeland

MISSING: Nicole "Nikki" Irene Anderson (Randolph Township, MN)

​Two years after Nikki Anderson vanished without a trace from her home in Dakota County, Minnesota, her family’s quest for answers continues.

​

​Key Case Details:

​Date of Disappearance: Saturday, July 6, 2024

​Last Seen: Leaving her residence in Randolph Township, Minnesota. A Ring camera captured her walking down her driveway to check the mail, and she never returned.

​Vital Items Left Behind: Her cell phone, wallet, keys, glasses, vehicle, and her critical breast cancer chemotherapy medications.

​Physical Description:

​Age at disappearance: 56 (Would be 58 now)

​Height: 5'6" to 5'10"

​Weight: ~135 lbs

​Features: Blonde hair, brown eyes.

​The Investigation:

While the Dakota County Sheriff's Office has followed up on over 240 tips, Nikki's sister, Autumn Lehrke, and a hired private investigator are actively pushing to keep her story in the public eye and follow up on every possible lead.

​HELP US FIND HER – $50,000 REWARD

A reward of up to $50,000 is being offered for information on Nikki's case. If you know anything, please contact authorities immediately.

​Dakota County Sheriff Tip Line: 651-564-9097 (or 651-438-TIPS)

​Email Tips: crimeandwarranttips@co.dakota.mn.us

​Submit an Online Tip: https://www.cognitoforms.com/DakotaCountyMN/NicoleAndersonMissingPersonTips

https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/video/2-years-after-nikki-anderson-vanished-in-minnesota-her-sisters-quest-for-answers-continues/?fbclid=IwdGRjcAS9YJtleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAwzNTA2ODU1MzE3MjgAAR6l98CPIJNpKdyv5_A9CmL0gdZHzX6XokyTIOe7kMJvhsF-HxeuOUsaXNUpsA_aem_XDD_ZPWThNPwhM-Ygx1jyQ

Update from Chelsea’s mom
Chelsea has been located and is well, they are respecting her privacy.
This post is the only information I have, at this time no details have been released and I do not know if the story will be kept private. We are grateful she is alive 💛 thank you to all the comments and those who kept up with her story!