Paislee Shultis: Six-year-old found alive in secret room under stairs of New York house after being missing since 2019
Police say they had previously searched property several times in hunt for youngster
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A six-year-old girl who had been missing since 2019 was found alive and well by police hidden in a secret room under the staircase of a New York home.
Paislee Shultis, who was four when she disappeared, was rescued from the property in Saugerties in upstate New York after police received a tip on her whereabouts.
Officers spent an hour searching the home before they found the girl hidden in the makeshift room under the staircase which led to a basement.
Authorities say that a detective felt there was something odd about the staircase before seeing a blanket and a flashing light.
“Detectives used a halogen tool to remove several of the wooden steps, and that is when detectives saw a pair of tiny feet,” a Saugerties Police statement said.
“After removing several more steps, the child and her abductor were discovered within. The space was small, cold, and wet.”
The youngster was examined by paramedics who determined she was in good health and she was returned to her legal guardian.
She was reported missing from her home in Cayuga Heights, New York, in July 2019, with authorities believing she had been taken by her “non-custodial” parents.
Kimberly Cooper, Kirk Shultis, Jr, and Kirk Shultis, Sr, were arrested and charged with Paislee’s disappearance.
Police had searched the property where the youngster was found in a number of times, but the residents had “denied any knowledge of the little girl’s whereabouts.”
“During some of the follow ups to the Fawn Road location, authorities were permitted limited access into the residence to look around for the child, by both Kirk Shultis Sr and Jr ... knowing the child and her abductor were hidden within the house and would not be found,” police said in a statement.
Kirk Shultis, Jr, and Kirk Shultis, Sr, have been charged with one count each of felony custodial interference in the first degree and misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child.
Kimberly Cooper was charged with custodial interference in the second degree and misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child.
She was remanded into custody on an outstanding warrant issued by Ulster County Family Court.
Kirk Shultis, Jr, and Kirk Shultis, Sr, were released on their own recognizance and orders of protection were issued against all three.