[kellyhound]

A girl who was 4 years old when she was reported missing in 2019 has been found, police in New York announced Tuesday. Authorities said they discovered Paislee Shultis under a staircase in a home with her non-custodial parents.

Shultis was first reported missing from Cayuga Heights in New York three years ago. At the time, authorities believed she was taken by Kimberly Cooper and Kirk Shultis Jr., her non-custodial parents, the Saugerties Police Department said in a statement.

Police said they obtained a search warrant on Monday for a home in Saugerties after they were told that a child was being held "within a hidden location" at the residence.

The owner, who was not identified, told police he did not know where the child was, saying he hadn't seen her since she went missing in 2019.

An hour into the search, an officer was looking at a staircase in the back of the house that led to the basement and noticed "the construction of the steps were odd," the statement said.

Upon further inspection, he saw what he thought was a blanket between the wooden steps. Officers removed several of the boards and found the child and Cooper in what they called "a makeshift room" under the staircase, the statement said. Police described it as a small, cold and wet space.

Paislee Shultis was taken to police headquarters, examined by paramedics and determined to be in good health. She was then returned to her legal guardian and reunited with her older sister.

Cooper, 33, was charged with second degree custodial interference and endangering the welfare of a child. She was arraigned in Saugerties and then taken to the Ulster County Jail, where the Ulster County Family Court had an active arrest warrant for her, the statement said.

Kirk Shultis Jr., 32, and Kirk Shultis Sr., 57, were both charged with the felony of custodial interference in the first degree and with endangering the welfare of a child, which is a misdemeanor. They were arraigned and have since been released on their own recognizance.

Stay-away orders were issued by the court against all three suspects, police said.

Neighbors were stunned that the missing little girl had been in the home all along.

"I'm just shocked, because they seemed like regular people," a neighbor told.

Police said they had been to the house where the child was found several times after she was reported missing while following other leads.

However, authorities say that the residents told them they did not know anything about her disappearance, and both Shultis Jr. and Shultis Sr. previously allowed them to conduct limited searches of the home "knowing the child and her abductor were hidden within the house and would not be found."

Police say their investigation into the incident is ongoing.

[Sugar³]

"As much candy and McDonalds as she wanted."

[Azimuth]

They do have that slightly inbred, toothless, meth head look about them innit.

Fucking monsters, unless there was weed in that house, they should get hardly any jail time for this. I do hope somebody wipes that fugly smirk off her face soon.

[v1r]

Such a dirty fucking place, who the fuck would leave a kid there.

[Steve]

See above.

[Vixənn]

wow, that dude looks a lot like Bradley Cooper.

[Flapmon]

Probably just wanted their kid and hid her in there when people visited so no one would find her.

Glad shes ok tho.

[SimoneFlen']

Article dated 17th February 2022:

More information is being uncovered about the alleged legal problems of Paislee Shultis' father, which may shed some light on why the child was taken from her biological parents.

Paislee's father, Kirk Shultis Jr., 32, was arrested in April 2019 for methamphetamines in North Carolina, according to online documents.

It has also been discovered that Shultis was arrested in 2018 for home improvement fraud by the Athens Township Police Department in Pennsylvania, according to the Bradford County District Attorney's Office. The area is on the New York/Pennsylvania border. Shultis pleaded guilty to the first-degree misdemeanor in 2019 and served two months in Bradford County Correctional Facility.

The Bradford County District Attorney's Office tells News 12 that it had difficulty with Shultis during its involvement with him. In September 2019, it moved to revoke his bail after the bondsman indicated he was not complying with the terms. In June 2021, the DA's office petitioned to revoke his parole - alleging he had not complied with drug and alcohol testing. During both instances, he eventually complied and the petitions were dismissed.

Police say Shultis and his wife Kimberly abducted their 4-year-old daughter after losing custody of her and her older sister in 2019. She was found Monday in the Saugerties home of Kirk Shultis Sr.

Both of the parents and the child's grandfather are facing criminal charges after the 6-year-old was found alive by police hidden inside a makeshift crawlspace beneath a stairwell.

Kirk Shultis Jr. and Kirk Shultis Sr. had brief court appearances Wednesday to put attorneys on record and were served with restraining orders while the case is now under grand jury review. They were ushered into Saugerties Town Court Wednesday without saying a word.

Paisley's mother was bailed out of Ulster County Jail midday and arrived late. She was initially kept on bail because of an open arrest warrant. Police wouldn't disclose what that was about, but Saugerties Police Chief Joseph Sinagra told News 12 that the excuse police were repeatedly told when they went to the home was that Paislee hadn't been seen and was believed to be out of state with her mother. That prompted a warrant for an arrest in family court.

[bigbear8]

Wait, the biological parents were arrested for kidnapping their own child? I assume they were deemed unfit because of drug and/or abuse problems? The Facebook post was correct in saying a lot of information is missing with this case.

[shadowplay]

Originally Posted by bigbear8 ↗

Wait, the biological parents were arrested for kidnapping their own child? I assume they were deemed unfit because of drug and/or abuse problems? The Facebook post was correct in saying a lot of information is missing with this case.

They lost custody of her, maybe to a relative? She's now with her older sister. I'd like to know why they lost custody but I can only imagine.....
As someone who took in kinship foster kids & has since adopted them, this is the kind of shit that terrifies me. These people...they every day is just another lie, scam, con, attempt to circumvent the system. They don't change, & everything is everyone else's fault.