Kirk Shultis Jr. Kimberly Cooper

 

NY couple arrested for abducting and hiding 4 year-old under stairways for more than 2 years

By Edward Era Barbacena

A New York girl reported missing in 2019 when she was 4 years old was found alive this week under a wooden staircase in a home that officials had visited several times while investigating her disappearance, authorities said Tuesday.

The child was reported missing on July 13, 2019, from Cayuga Heights, a village on the outskirts of Ithaca, New York. At the time, she was believed to have been abducted by her non-custodial parents, Kimberly Cooper and Kirk Shultis Jr., police said in a news release.

Paislee Shultis was abducted aged four in
2019. She is now six

Throughout the 2.5-year investigation, authorities received several tips about the Saugerties-area home where the child was eventually located -- but each time, the residents denied knowing anything about the girl's whereabouts, the release said. The town of Saugerties is about 160 miles east of Cayuga Heights.

"Each time, we were met with resistance from the occupants of the residence. We were told that the child was not there, that we were only harassing the family," Saugerties Police Chief Joseph Sinagra told HLN in an interview on Tuesday.

On several occasions, investigators were allowed into the home without a warrant, but they were given "limited access" by Kirk Shultis Jr. and Kirk Shultis Sr., the release added.

That changed Monday when police received information that the child was being hidden and got a search warrant for the home. Police executed that warrant a little after 8 p.m., the release said. The homeowner denied knowing the girl's whereabouts, saying he had not seen her since she was reported missing in 2019, the release added

Something peculiar in a staircase

An hour into the search, one detective noticed that the steps leading to the basement were oddly constructed. The detective, Erik Thiele, pointed a flashlight through a crack in the wooden steps and saw what seemed to be a blanket, the release said.

Police said the secret location underneath the stairs
to the basement appeared to have been built to hide
 the girl.

Investigators removed several of the steps, the release added, and "that is when detectives saw a pair of tiny feet."

"The child and her abductor, Kimberly Cooper were found hiding in the dark and wet enclosure," the police release said. Authorities believe Cooper and the child had been staying at the home since they disappeared in 2019, Sinagra said, adding the staircase appeared to have been built to hide them both.

Police arrested the child's non-custodial parents as well as Shultis Sr., the release said.

Cooper was charged with two misdemeanors: custodial interference in the second degree and endangering the welfare of a child, and remains in jail because of a prior arrest warrant issued through family court, according to police.

Kirk Shultis Jr. and Kirk Shultis Sr. were each charged with custodial interference in the first degree, a felony, and endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor. Both were arraigned and released on their own recognizance, police said. All three defendants were ordered by the court to stay away from the child.

One last stop: A McDonald's drive-thru

The young girl was "upset and was concerned" when police first rescued her, Sinagra said.

"That begs the question, what was the child told about the police and, you know, why the police would come and take her," Sinagra said. "That's what I'm concerned about. ... And I'm sure that when she saw several of our officers, who were heavily armed ... that was somewhat traumatizing to the child."

As detectives drove the girl to police headquarters, she saw a McDonald's and recalled having some a long time ago, the chief said.

"So, the detectives turned the car around and went to the drive-thru at McDonald's, picked her up a Happy Meal, and brought her back to headquarters. And she was fine after that," the chief added.

The child was found to be in good health and released to her legal guardian and reunited with her older sister, police said.

On Tuesday, "detectives met with the family that has the child, and she was in very good spirits," the chief said.

An investigation is ongoing, the release added.