Parents of missing NY girl found hidden under staircase due in court
NEW YORK - The non-custodial parents of Paislee Shultis, the New York girl who was reported missing when she was 4 years old, who was found in a secret room under a staircase in their home, appeared in court on Wednesday.
Paislee Shultis was reported missing from Cayuga Heights in Tompkins County on July 13, 2019. At the time of her disappearance, police thought that she might have been abducted by her non-custodial parents, Kimberly Cooper and Kirk Shultis Jr.
Police found Cooper and the little girl in a "dark and damp" little room hidden under a staircase in the home they were living in. The discovery came an hour into a search of the home after receiving a tip.
Kimberly Cooper(left) and Kirk Sultis Jr. faces charges in the case.
Cooper, 33, now faces 2nd-degree felony charges of custodial interference and endangering the welfare of a child.
Sultis Jr., 32, was charged with 1st-degree felony custodial interference and endangering the welfare of a child.
Kirk Shultis Sr.
His father, Kirk Shultis Sr., 57, was charged with 1st-degree felony custodial interference and endangering the welfare of a child.
Both Shultis Sr. and Jr. were arraigned in the Town of Saugerties Justice Court and released on their own recognizance. Cooper was remanded to the Ulster County Jail after her arrest on Tuesday.
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Stay-Away Orders of Protection were issued by the court against all three defendants.
Paislee Shultis has been handed over to her legal guardian and was reunited with her older sister.