Accused Abductors Of 6-Year-Old Girl To Appear In Court

SAUGERTIES, NY — Three people will be appearing in Saugerties Town Court Wednesday after being accused of abducting an upstate girl who had been missing since 2019.

Kirk Shultis Sr., 57, and Kirk Shultis Jr., 32, have both been charged with first-degree custodial interference, a felony, and misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child. Kimberly Cooper, 33, has been charged with second-degree custodial interference and endangering the welfare of a child, misdemeanors.

They were arrested Monday after 6-year-old Paislee Shultis was found hidden under a staircase in a home at 35 Fawn Road in Saugerties.

The child was found with Cooper, who is her mother.

According to the Saugerties police, when Paislee Shultis was 4 years old in 2019 she was reported missing from Spencer in Tioga County.

At the time, police said, she was believed to have been abducted by Cooper and Shultis Jr., who are her non-custodial parents.

Police received information Monday that the child was being held in a hidden location at the Fawn Road residence.

Shortly after 8 p.m. Saugerties police, with assistance from the New York State Police, searched the home.

Shultis Sr., the child's grandfather and owner of the house, said he knew nothing about Paislee's whereabouts and told police he hadn't seen her since she was reported missing, the Daily Freeman reported.

Saugerties police said, after an hour of searching, the child was found in a makeshift room under a closed staircase that led to the home's basement.

Paislee was found with Cooper in what police described as a "dark and wet enclosure."

Saugerties Police Chief Joseph Sinagra told the Daily Freeman that Paislee had been quiet during the search and that where she was hidden had been used frequently.

The child was examined by paramedics and was found to be in good health, the New York Post said. She was released to her legal guardian at a location that was not disclosed.