In 2019, four-year-old Paislee Shultis was reported missing from Spencer New York. At the time, the child was believed to have been abducted by her non-custodial parents, Kimberly Cooper, and Kirk Shultis.
On February 14, 2022, incidental to receiving information that the child was being held within a hidden location at a residence located at 35 Fawn Road in the Town of Saugerties, Saugerties Police applied for and obtained a warrant from the Town of Saugerties Justice Court Authorizing the search of the residence for the child.
At 8:06 PM Saugerties Police Detectives, SPD uniform officers with assistance from the New York State Police BCI and uniform troopers, executed the search on the residence. At the time of search warrant execution, Kirk Shultis Jr. was at the residence and denied having any knowledge as to the missing girl's location. Several Time through the police investigation whihc expanded over a two-year period, Shultis was interviewed by police and maintained that he had no knowledge as to where the girl was, telling officers that he had not seen the child since she was reported missing in 2019. A little over an hour into the search of the residence, the child was located secreted in a makeshift room, under a closed staircase leading to the basement of the residence