Who are Paislee Shultis' parents? Girl missing since 2019 found alive under stairs

Paislee Shultis, a six-year-old girl from New York, was found alive in a secret room under the stairs at an upstate Saugerties home nearly two years after she was reported missing in 2019.

The child was initially abducted from Spencer in Tioga County when she was just four years old. It has now been revealed that she was kidnapped by her own biological but “non-custodial” parents Kimberly Cooper and Kirk Shultis Jr. and kept at her paternal grandfather’s house.

According to the Daily Freeman, Cooper and Shultis abducted their daughter after losing Paislee and her older sister’s custody in 2019. Police have long suspected the parents of the abduction but failed to find proper evidence against them until Monday, February 14, 2022.

Paramedics confirmed that Paislee Shultis was found in good health and did not suffer any abuse. Both her parents and grandfather were arrested on charges of custodial interference and child-endangerment.

---

Paislee Shultis' parents reportedly abducted her after losing her custody

Kimberly Cooper and Kirk Shultis Jr. are Paislee Shultis' biological but non-custodial parents (Image via Saugerties Police Department)

Kimberly Cooper and Kirk Shultis Jr. are an American couple who were recently arrested for abducting their own daughter Paislee Shultis after losing her custody in 2019. It is not known why the pair lost custody of their daughter but no charges were filed against them at the time.

Shultis Jr. is a 32-year-old man born on June 30, 1989 and Cooper is a 33-year-old woman born on November 10, 1988. Saugerties Police Chief Joseph Sinagra said the duo reportedly fled with their youngest daughter after discovering they lost custody of both their children:

“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.”

Cooper and Shultis Jr. kept Paislee confined to her grandfather’s home in Saugerties for two years. Although the child was found safe and unharmed, authorities said that her parents did not provide her with any education:

“The only problem is she hasn’t attended school, and they weren’t educating her at the house… you have a child that doesn't write or read because they didn't have the opportunity to go to school. They will now.”

Chief Sinagra also expressed concern about the child’s health and said that officers believed she had not received proper medical attention since 2019:

“We are pretty certain that she probably wasn't receiving proper medical attention. Obviously, the family just couldn't take her to a doctor because she was a reported missing person.”

Police also shared that they often suspected the girl was kept hidden in her grandfather’s Saugerties home but the residents repeatedly denied knowing Paislee Shultis’ whereabouts:

"During some of the follow ups to the Fawn Road location, authorities were permitted limited access into the residence to look around for the child, by both Kirk Shultis Sr and Jr. knowing the child and her abductor were hidden within the house and would not be found."

However, a recent tip led the police to issue an official warrant to search Kirk Shultis Sr.’s home. During Monday’s search operation, detective Erik Thiele noticed a blanket peeking out from under the staircase after using a flashlight to check to the steps.

Following the discovery, officers used certain tools to remove several of the wooden steps until they found “a pair of tiny feet” under the stairs. Paislee Shultis was then found in a makeshift room under the steps with her mother.

Authorities described the secret room as “small, cold, wet and dingy” with soaked blankets lying atop a concrete floor. They also believed that Cooper and Shultis Jr. possibly used the same location to hide their daughter whenever police arrived at the residence.

A local resident named Annette Wrolsen was left shocked by the incident and said Cooper and her husband were just normal people:

“They’re as normal as normal can be — except for the fact that they’ve got playground equipment out there and I’ve never seen a child out there in 12 years that we’ve been living here.”

Kirk Shultis Jr. and his father, Shultis Sr., were arrested and charged with one count of felony each for custodial interference in the first degree and one count of misdemeanor each for endangering the welfare of a child.

They were arraigned in Saugerties Town Court and later released on their own recognizance with appearance tickets for a later date. Meanwhile, Kimberly Cooper has been held at Ulster County Jail on a family-court warrant on $50,000 bail.

Not much is known about Cooper and Shultis Jr.’s personal lives so far. They have reportedly been ordered to stay away from their daughter and are set to appear in court on February 16 along with Shultis Sr.

Paislee Shultis was removed from her grandfather’s home and later reunited with her legal guardian and older sister.