A MISSING girl’s mother skipped court appearances and her father was facing a felony fraud charge in another state when she vanished, according to documents obtained by The Sun.
Paislee Shultis, now 6, has been missing since July 2019 until police found her in February hiding in the stairs of an upstate New York house.
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Her biological parents – Kirk Shultis Jr and Kimberly Cooper – allegedly kidnapped their daughter after they lost custody.
Both parents and Paislee’s grandfather Kirk Shultis Sr were arrested and charged with custodial interference and endangering the welfare of a child.
They pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The chief in Saugerties, where she was found, said police believe Paislee lived in an intricate, secret apartment in the basement with escape routes to the background and the hidden crawl space in the stairs.
The case was three years in the making and started with a missed July 2019 court date.
When Paislee was reported missing in Cayuga Heights, Cooper was scheduled to appear in town court on traffic violations, according to police documents obtained in a public records request.
Cayuga Heights is about 150 miles from where Paislee was found.
The July 11, 2019 court appearance was the second of three missed court appearances between June and November 2019, which led to a warrant being issued for her arrest.
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The traffic violations date back to May 21, 2019, when she was pulled over in the village of Spencer, New York for allegedly driving without insurance.
She told police she was doing work for her husband.
She led them to Shultis Jr, which is when police discovered he had an outstanding warrant from Pennsylvania, according to the documents.
WARRANT FOR SHULTIS JR’S ARREST
Cayuga Heights police arrested Shultis Jr on an outstanding warrant from Athens Township, Pennsylvania, according to police records.
He was extradited to the small town near the New York State border and charged with felony fraud in connection with sketchy business practices.
He ultimately pleaded guilty, served a couple of months in jail, and was paroled in January 2020, Pennsylvania court documents show.
Around the time of his release, Cayuga Heights police attempted to track down Cooper, who missed her third court appearance in November 2019.
They also learned of another warrant for her arrest after she skipped a court appearance in family court in Tioga County in the Binghampton, New York area.
MANHUNT FOR COOPER
Cayuga Heights police tried to use Shultis Jr to track down his wife, who missed her third court appearance in November 2019.
Police attempted multiple phone numbers listed for Cooper in January 2020, but “none were of any use,” according to police documents.
Cayuga Heights detectives continued their search for Cooper for months, including contacting Shultis Jr’s parole officer in April 2020.
That was the first time a missing – likely Paislee – was mentioned in police reports.
“I advised (the parole officer) of K. Cooper’s outstanding warrants, including the potential for having a child that was in the process of being taken away by Tioga County DSS and Sheriff’ s Office,” the report said.
Cooper was tracked down to Shultis Jr’s last known address in Saugerties, and Cayuga Heights and Saugerties police departments worked together.
Officers found Shultis Jr, “who claimed he had no contact with Kim in months,” according to the police records.
“Shults then stated to Saugerties PD that she is aware of the warrants and (Cooper) is ‘couch surfing’ somewhere in the Spencer area. No further leads at this time.”
JOURNALIST BRINGS A NEW LEAD
The case appeared to be dead. Cooper or Paislee – now six years old – hasn’t been seen by police in years.
Over the last couple of years, Saugerties Police Chief Joseph Sinagra said several tips led police to 35 Fawn Road, where Paislee was ultimately found, but her parents repeatedly denied knowing where Paislee was.
But then they got a “ripe and corroborated” tip on February 14, 2022.
The tip came from a call from an NBC New York reporter about Paislee Shultis, according to police documents.
While there were no reports about her missing in Saugerties, “the name Shultis rang a bell,” police wrote in their report.
“I did an Internet search of the incident based on what was relayed to me by (the reporter),” the police report said.
“Upon doing so I found that the child was reported taken in July of 2019 by her non-custodial mother and father Kimberly and Kirk Shultis, who are both known to this department.
“Further search of CHPD records shows Kimberly as having an active Bench warrant out of Cayuga Heights Court under her maiden name of Kimberly A. Cooper.”
Police secured a search warrant, which ultimately led to Paislee’s rescue and the arrests.
‘GOOD PEOPLE’
When news broke of the allegations against the Shultis family, it came as a surprise to some in the community.
A little less than a mile north of where Paislee was found, Vinnie worked outside his longtime market, where he sells pastries, ciders, jams, among other goods.
He said he knew the Shultis and Cooper families for almost four decades and called them “hardworking, blue-collar people.”
He never met Shultis Jr or Cooper or saw Paislee before, but “the older generations are good people,” he said.
Shultis’ older brother stopped into the shop “once or twice” since 2019, when Paislee was first reported missing, but Vinnie said there was nothing to suggest anything was wrong.
“I don’t know what happened, but hopefully they get help,” Vinnie said about Shultis Jr and Kimberly. “Maybe they were having a tough time. Who knows? Everyone makes mistakes.”
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