Missing Six-Year-Old Girl Found In Harry Potter-Like Hiding Place Under Parents’ Stairs

Paislee Shultis was only four years old when her legal guardian reported her missing. Years went by with no sign of the lost girl. Police suspected that she had been abducted by her biological parents. After extensive searching, nothing was turned up.

A break in the case finally came when investigators uncovered the child at her biological parents home in Saugerties, New York. The New York Daily News reported that her mother, Kimberly Cooper, was found along with Paislee in a makeshift hiding place under the stairs.

Cooper, father Kirk Shultis Jr., and Paislee’s grandfather were all arrested on the scene. The couple had lost custody of Paislee for unknown reasons years before. The incident is being treated as a kidnapping. Saugerties police chief Joseph Sinagra explained the reason for the abduction.

“We believe what happened after that point was that somebody informed the parents that the older child had been picked up by the legal guardian and by county officials at the time and that caused the parents then to take Paislee and flee.”

Advertising

Advertising

For two years, Sinagra and other investigators searched for Paislee. A tip came in this week that prompted police to obtain a search warrant for the grandfather’s home. That’s where they found Paislee hiding under the stairs.

Paislee Shultis has been released back to her legal guardians in good health. Authorities did note that the girl had her own bedroom in the house. The parents had given several excuses to police despite the obvious appearance of the room being recently used. Eventually, they were able to recover the girl without having suffered any harm.

What do you think of this story? Let us know in the comments!