6-Year-Old Girl Missing Since 2019 Found Hidden Inside ‘Small, Cold and Wet’ Staircase

Paislee Shultis, a girl who went missing in 2019 at the age of 4, was found alive and hidden inside of a staircase by police on Monday.

Shultis, who is now 6-years-old, was found in Saugerties, New York Monday after authorities received a tip on her whereabouts. While police had searched the house before, the residents repeatedly denied any knowledge of the girl’s location.

“Our officers were up and down those steps several times and never heard the child, never made a sound, but the detective said there was something odd about the stairs. Just the way they were constructed, the way they felt when he was walking on them.” Saugerties Police Department Chief Joseph Sinagra said Tuesday.

“He said he took a closer look at the stairs, and between two of the stair boards, there was a crack. He used a flashlight, looked in there, and saw what he believed was a blanket at the bottom.”

The officers, including Detective Erik Thiele — who first noticed something was off — then used a halligan tool to remove the steps from the staircase until they found a “little pair of feet.”

“After removing several more steps, the child and her abductor were discovered within. The space was small, cold, and wet,” police added in a statement.

Authorities believe Shultis was abducted by her biological yet “non-custodial parents” from Cayuga Heights in July 2019, and she was found hiding with  Kimberly Cooper, her “non-custodial” mother, under the staircase.

Cooper, her husband Kirk Shultis Jr., and his father Kirk Shultis Sr. were all arrested and charged in Paislee’s disappearance on Monday.

According to paramedics, Shultis is in good health and has been released to her legal guardian.

Watch above, via CNN.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!