Kirk D. Shultis Jr., Kimberly Cooper Shultis, and Kirk D. Shultis Sr.Photo: saugerties police departmentThree people arrested inthe unusual case of Paislee Shultispleaded not guilty to child endangerment and custodial interference charges this week, PEOPLE confirms.Kimberly Cooper Shultis, Kirk Shultis Jr. and Kirk Shultis Sr. were all taken into custody in Saugerties, N.Y., Monday after authorities found Paislee — who had been missing since her parents lost custody of her in 2019 — hidden in a “dark and wet enclosure” beneath a basement staircase.Kimberly, 33, is Paislee’s mother. An arrest report from the Saugerties Police Department says she was charged with custodial interference in the second degree and endangering the welfare of a child, both misdemeanors.Kirk Jr., 32, andKirk Sr., 57, who are Paislee’s father and grandfather, were both charged with felony custodial interference in the first degree and misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child, according to arrest reports.Paislee had not been publicly seen or heard from since 2019, when she was 4 years old. Investigators long believed Paislee to be in the care of her non-custodial parents after disappearing, according to the Saugerties Police Department.Detectives searched for Paislee in the home of Kirk Sr. — whom they had reason to believe was housing her — on “multiple occasions” to no avail, and he denied knowing her whereabouts each time.Monday evening, a search of the house began the same as before, police say: Kirk Sr. denied having seen Paislee, and detectives struggled to find evidence of the girl inside the residence. Kirk Jr. was also home at the time that the warrant was executed and agreed that he did not know where she was.It wasn’t until just over an hour into the search that a detective noticed something strange on the stairs leading to the basement.“He took a flashlight and looked between the cracks between the steps,” Saugerties Police Chief Joseph Sinagratold WDSU. “He saw what he thought was a blanket, and at that point, they used a Halligan tool, a forcible entry tool, and they started ripping the steps off the staircase itself.““At one point they saw little feet, as he put it,” Sinagra said, per the outlet.It was there, in the makeshift room beneath the staircase, that Paislee was discovered — alive — alongside Kimberly.ap/shutterstock. inset Saugerties Police DepartmentPaislee’s mother, father and grandfather were arraigned this week and each pleaded not guilty to the charges they faced, PEOPLE confirms with an official at Saugerties Town Court.Kimberly is scheduled to return to court on March 2, and Kirk Jr. and Sr. will return in late April, the official said.Attorneys authorized to speak on the defendants' behalf did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or1-800-422-4453, or go towww.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
Kirk D. Shultis Jr., Kimberly Cooper Shultis, and Kirk D. Shultis Sr.Photo: saugerties police department
Three people arrested inthe unusual case of Paislee Shultispleaded not guilty to child endangerment and custodial interference charges this week, PEOPLE confirms.Kimberly Cooper Shultis, Kirk Shultis Jr. and Kirk Shultis Sr. were all taken into custody in Saugerties, N.Y., Monday after authorities found Paislee — who had been missing since her parents lost custody of her in 2019 — hidden in a “dark and wet enclosure” beneath a basement staircase.Kimberly, 33, is Paislee’s mother. An arrest report from the Saugerties Police Department says she was charged with custodial interference in the second degree and endangering the welfare of a child, both misdemeanors.Kirk Jr., 32, andKirk Sr., 57, who are Paislee’s father and grandfather, were both charged with felony custodial interference in the first degree and misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child, according to arrest reports.Paislee had not been publicly seen or heard from since 2019, when she was 4 years old. Investigators long believed Paislee to be in the care of her non-custodial parents after disappearing, according to the Saugerties Police Department.Detectives searched for Paislee in the home of Kirk Sr. — whom they had reason to believe was housing her — on “multiple occasions” to no avail, and he denied knowing her whereabouts each time.Monday evening, a search of the house began the same as before, police say: Kirk Sr. denied having seen Paislee, and detectives struggled to find evidence of the girl inside the residence. Kirk Jr. was also home at the time that the warrant was executed and agreed that he did not know where she was.It wasn’t until just over an hour into the search that a detective noticed something strange on the stairs leading to the basement.“He took a flashlight and looked between the cracks between the steps,” Saugerties Police Chief Joseph Sinagratold WDSU. “He saw what he thought was a blanket, and at that point, they used a Halligan tool, a forcible entry tool, and they started ripping the steps off the staircase itself.““At one point they saw little feet, as he put it,” Sinagra said, per the outlet.It was there, in the makeshift room beneath the staircase, that Paislee was discovered — alive — alongside Kimberly.ap/shutterstock. inset Saugerties Police DepartmentPaislee’s mother, father and grandfather were arraigned this week and each pleaded not guilty to the charges they faced, PEOPLE confirms with an official at Saugerties Town Court.Kimberly is scheduled to return to court on March 2, and Kirk Jr. and Sr. will return in late April, the official said.Attorneys authorized to speak on the defendants' behalf did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or1-800-422-4453, or go towww.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
Three people arrested inthe unusual case of Paislee Shultispleaded not guilty to child endangerment and custodial interference charges this week, PEOPLE confirms.
Kimberly Cooper Shultis, Kirk Shultis Jr. and Kirk Shultis Sr. were all taken into custody in Saugerties, N.Y., Monday after authorities found Paislee — who had been missing since her parents lost custody of her in 2019 — hidden in a “dark and wet enclosure” beneath a basement staircase.
Kimberly, 33, is Paislee’s mother. An arrest report from the Saugerties Police Department says she was charged with custodial interference in the second degree and endangering the welfare of a child, both misdemeanors.
Kirk Jr., 32, andKirk Sr., 57, who are Paislee’s father and grandfather, were both charged with felony custodial interference in the first degree and misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child, according to arrest reports.
Paislee had not been publicly seen or heard from since 2019, when she was 4 years old. Investigators long believed Paislee to be in the care of her non-custodial parents after disappearing, according to the Saugerties Police Department.
Detectives searched for Paislee in the home of Kirk Sr. — whom they had reason to believe was housing her — on “multiple occasions” to no avail, and he denied knowing her whereabouts each time.
Monday evening, a search of the house began the same as before, police say: Kirk Sr. denied having seen Paislee, and detectives struggled to find evidence of the girl inside the residence. Kirk Jr. was also home at the time that the warrant was executed and agreed that he did not know where she was.
It wasn’t until just over an hour into the search that a detective noticed something strange on the stairs leading to the basement.
“He took a flashlight and looked between the cracks between the steps,” Saugerties Police Chief Joseph Sinagratold WDSU. “He saw what he thought was a blanket, and at that point, they used a Halligan tool, a forcible entry tool, and they started ripping the steps off the staircase itself.”
“At one point they saw little feet, as he put it,” Sinagra said, per the outlet.
It was there, in the makeshift room beneath the staircase, that Paislee was discovered — alive — alongside Kimberly.
ap/shutterstock. inset Saugerties Police Department
Paislee’s mother, father and grandfather were arraigned this week and each pleaded not guilty to the charges they faced, PEOPLE confirms with an official at Saugerties Town Court.
Kimberly is scheduled to return to court on March 2, and Kirk Jr. and Sr. will return in late April, the official said.
Attorneys authorized to speak on the defendants' behalf did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or1-800-422-4453, or go towww.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
source: people.com
