A Young Girl Who Had Been Missing Since 2019 Was Found Alive Under A Staircase In Upstate New York
Saugerties Police Department/CanvaKirk Shultis and Kimberly Cooper, the couple who lost custody of their daughter, then kidnapped her and hid her under the stairs when police came by.
In July 2019, four-year-old Paislee Shultis disappeared from her family’s home near Ithaca, New York.
At the time, investigators suspected that it had been her non-custodial biological parents, Kimberly Cooper and Kirk Shultis Jr., who were responsible — but they didn’t have enough evidence to secure a warrant.
Cooper and Shultis lost custody of Paislee in 2019, but it took until this past February before police were able to search the couple’s home in Saugerties.
They spent an hour combing the home to no avail. It seemed as if their search was in vain — until one detective noticed something odd about the basement staircase.
Upon closer inspection, they found a small hiding space. When they ripped the stairs open, they found Paislee and Cooper in a secret compartment beneath them.
For years, police had been looking for Paislee, and they had even visited Shultis’ home before. Each time, he claimed he had no idea where his daughter was and accused investigators of harassing him.
Kirk Shultis Sr. lived in the home alongside his son and Cooper, as well, and he surely knew that the couple was hiding Paislee. Still, he said nothing, and both the Shultis men and Cooper were charged with custodial interference and endangering the welfare of a child.
Thankfully, Paislee was physically well and was returned to her legal guardians.
