A child who had been missing since 2019, when she was 4 years old, has been found alive.
Paislee Shultis went missing more than two years ago from her home in Cayuga Heights, New York. On Monday, she was found by police inside her paternal grandfather's home. Paislee was hidden underneath a staircase in the New York home, about 45 miles south of Albany. The home is about 160 miles away from where the child was abducted.
According to the Saugerties Police Department, authorities investigated the home after receiving a tip about the child's whereabouts.
Detective Erik Thiele was the one who made the startling discovery. When examining the basement stairs, he could see a blanket between the cracks. That led him to begin prying off the stairs, one by one.
“However, detectives used a … tool to remove several of the wooden steps, and that is when detectives saw a pair of tiny feet,” police said in a statement on Tuesday. “After removing several more steps, the child and her abductor were discovered within. The space was small, cold, and wet.”
The child had allegedly been abducted when she was 4 years old by her noncustodial parents. Kimberly Cooper, Kirk Shultis Jr., and Kirk Shultis Sr. were all arrested and charged in her disappearance. While police had previously followed leads that brought them to the residence where the child was found, each time the suspected abductors said they didn't know where she was and had no involvement in her disappearance.
Authorities also said that they were only allowed limited access to the home on several occasions. Kirk Shultis Sr. and Kirk Shultis Jr. were charged with one count each of felony custodial interference in the first degree and misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child. Cooper was charged with custodial interference in the second degree and misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child.
Orders of protection were issued against all three defendants.
Astonishingly, Paislee, now 6, is in good health. She was examined by paramedics just after she was found. The child has now been returned to her legal guardian.
