New York Girl Found Alive Under Staircase After Missing for Three Years

Paislee Shultis went missing in July 2019. After nearly three years, police located her in Saugerties, NY, under a basement staircase in a home three hours from where she originally went missing. 

Paislee was four-years-old when she went missing and was found in good health after being located in a “small, cold, and wet” room under a staircase. She finally reunited with her legal guardian and older sister after police discovered her. 

According to ABC News, her non-custodial parents, Kimberly Cooper, 33, and Kirk Shultis Jr., 32, were charged with custodial interference and endangering the welfare of a child. 

Police officers received a tip that a child may be endangered at a nearby home. The police obtained a search warrant and spoke with the homeowner, who denied seeing the child since 2019. 

Police noticed the basement staircase was “strangely built and were able to shine a flashlight through a crack in the boards.” Once they removed the boards, they discovered the now 7-year-old girl. Kirk Shultis Sr., 57, was charged with first-degree custodial interference along with his son and Cooper.

Shultis Sr. denied seeing the child when police asked. 

Though the father-son duo was arraigned and released, they have orders to stay away from the child. Cooper, however, had outstanding warrants and remains in Ulster County Jail. 

Apparently, it took police searching the home several times to discover Paislee.