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New York police recovered a missing girl Monday night who had last been seen in 2019.
Paislee Shultis, 6, was found alive in a hidden alcove in her noncustodial parents’ home more than 150 miles away from where she was believed to have last been seen, according to the Saugerties Police Department.
Police said they received a tip, then obtained and served a search warrant at a home on Fawn Road Monday, about 115 miles north of New York City. They allegedly found the girl in a damp, makeshift compartment beneath a basement staircase.
Three adults have been charged in connection with the case. Kirk Shultis Jr., 32, Kirk Shultis Sr., 57, and Kimberly Cooper, 33, each face charges of custodial interference and endangering the life of a child.
This photo provided by the Saugerties, NY, Police Department, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022, shows where young girl, reported missing in 2019, was found hidden under a staircase by officers searching a home in New York's Hudson Valley, police said Tuesday. (Saugerties Police Department via AP)
Cooper and the younger Shultis are Paislee’s biological parents, but neither of them have custodial rights.
In a statement, Saugerties police said the homeowner, Shultis Sr., denied having any knowledge of his granddaughter’s whereabouts and allegedly told her he hadn’t seen her since she was reported missing in 2019.
The Albany-based WRGB reported two years ago that Paislee had last been seen on July 13, 2019, and that she was believed to be with Cooper and Shultis Jr. New York state authorities said in a missing child bulletin at the time that they believed she may have been taken to Saugerties.
The city’s Police Chief Joseph Sinagra did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
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He told the Daily Freeman, a newspaper based in nearby Kingston, that the girl’s parents lost custody of their children — but allegedly ran off with Pasilee on the day they were supposed to surrender them to state authorities. Her older sister was in school at the time and wound up placed in the care of a legal guardian.
(NYSD)
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He also said Paislee appeared to be "well taken care of and in good health" but noted she hadn’t been to school at any point since she went missing in 2019.
Shultis Jr. previously told police Cooper had left him and gone to Pennsylvania and that he hadn’t seen her since 2019, FOX 5 New York reported. But she was allegedly hiding under the staircase with Paislee at Shultis’ father’s home in Saugerties Monday night.
(NYSD)
But when police searched his home, they said they saw a suspicious section of the basement staircase about an hour into their investigation. After removing some of the boards, they saw a pair of "tiny feet" and found the girl and her mother inside.
A crime scene photograph shows the compartment stuffed with blankets and a panda bear pillow. Authorities said conditions inside were damp and cold.
Paramedics examined Paislee and determined she was OK before transferring her to her legal guardian and reuniting her with her older sister.
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All three suspects are due in court Wednesday morning. The Ulster County District Attorney’s Office said it does not comment on pending litigation.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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