A 6-year-old girl missing for nearly three years after being abducted in 2019 was found alive by police on Monday, living in a secret room hidden under a staircase in an upstate New York home 162 miles away.
Six-year-old girl missing for nearly three years found alive
Nearly three years ago, then-four-year-old Paislee Shultis was reported missing from Cayuga Heights, in New York’s Finger Lakes region, and the Hudson River Valley several hours west of Saugerties, ABC, and NBC reported.
The Daily Mail reported that the girl’s biological parents, Kimberly Cooper, 33, and Kirk Shultis Jr., 32, lost custody of Paislee in 2019 when she was four. The identity of the legal guardians the child was living with when she was abducted in 2019 has not been made public yet. It is unclear at this time why the parents lost custody of Paislee.
Police said that Paislee was found in good health and is now back in the custody of her legal guardian, and she is also reunited with her older sister.
Over hour-long search leads to the discovery of secret room
Police searched the home of Paislee’s grandfather, Kirk Shultis Sr., 57, for a little over an hour before they noticed that the basement staircase seemed to be strangely built. Police noticed something about the staircase that led from the back of the residence into the home’s basement, and it caught their attention.
They were able to shine a flashlight through a crack in the boards.
“After removing several more steps [of the staircase], the child and her abductor were discovered within,” a police spokesperson said.
Police used a tool to remove the boards. Shining a flashlight through the crack, they were able to see a blanket, then a pair of tiny feet. Police then removed more panels and discovered a small, makeshift room.
Multiple searches came up empty over the years
The house where Paislee was eventually found alive is owned by her grandfather Kirk Shultis Sr., 57. Over the years, Saugerties police had searched the home several times. Police said the owner always denied knowledge of the location of the child. Police said, in previous searches, each time the residents had “denied any knowledge of the little girl’s whereabouts.”
The girl’s non-custodial father, Kirk Shultis Jr., told police he hadn’t seen the girl since 2019. Her non-custodial mother, Kimberly Cooper, had fled to Pennsylvania with the girl.
Parents and grandfather charged
Paislee’s non-custodial parents, Kimberly Cooper and Kirk Shultis Jr. have been charged with custodial interference and endangering the welfare of a child.
Paislee’s grandfather, Kirk Shultis Sr., was also charged with first-degree custodial interference and endangering the welfare of a child.
Shultis, Jr., and Shultis, Sr., were released on their recognizance, according to police. Cooper remains in custody for an outstanding warrant issued in Ulster County Family Court.
