A MISSING girl was concealed in a "secret basement apartment" with a door that led to a hidden crawl space in the staircase for more than two years.
That's where eagle-eyed Saugerties, New York detectives found Paislee Shultis, 6, and her biological mother Kimberly Cooper hiding earlier this week.
The removeable stair was part of an elaborate setup under the spacious upstate New York home that helped Paislee's parents allude police for nearly three years, Police Chief Joseph Sinagra told The Sun in an exclusive interview.
There was nothing out of the ordinary in the main portion of the house, he said. "It looked like a regular home."
But the basement was "like a second, secret apartment" with a living room, kitchen and two bedrooms – one for the parents and one for Paislee, the chief said.
Paislee's room had a secret door that led to the hidden crawl space inside the staircase or to the backyard, according to the chief.
That helped Kirk Shultis Jr and Kimberly Cooper allude police since 2019, when they allegedly kidnapped their daughter after losing custody for an unknown reason.
Police believe they moved to the quiet, rural town of Saugerties shortly after and have been living there ever since.
"It's our impression that they've been living on Fawn Road since Paislee went missing. That's our opinion," Sinagra said.
The road is a narrow, two-way street lined with homes on spacious, multi-acre properties.
Over the last couple years, several tips led police to 35 Fawn Road, but Sinagra said her parents repeatedly denied knowing where Paislee was.
On Valentine's Day, a "ripe and corroborated" tip led police back to the home with a search warrant, the chief said.
Over an hour into the search, Detective Erik Thiele noticed something "odd" about the staircase leading from the back of the home into the basement.
"He saw something that looked odd. He couldn't put his finger on it, but it didn't look right to him," Sinagra said.
When he shined his flashlight through a crack in the wooden steps, he saw a blanket, so they removed the steps until they noticed a pair of tiny feet.
Those were Paislee's feet, and she was hiding with her mother in the "small, cold and wet" space, he said.
Shultis Jr, his father Kirk Shultis Sr and Cooper were all arrested, and Paislee was reunited with her sister with her legal guardian, Sinagra said.
The chief said he couldn't disclose the siblings' location or who the legal guardian is to protect the kids, but Paislee is physically in good health.
THE SAUGERTIES HOME OUTDOOR PLAY AREA
On the right hand side of their home is a grassy area filled with a jungle-gym-like playset and child's toys littered all over the property.
The area is mostly hidden from the street and neighbors by tall shrubbery,trees and distance.
"She might've been allowed out to play outside but likely at night when no one was looking or could see them," Sinagra said.
"REUNITING THE FAMILY"
Sinagra, a father himself, said he empathizes with the parents "but that doesn't justify what they did."
"No parent wants to lose custody of their child," he said. "But the ends don't justify the means. But our goal is to get this family back together.
"We've been accused of breaking up the family. That's not what we're doing," the chief said.
"I don't know why the family court judge took away custody in 2019, but if they had just complied and did what they had to do, they probably would have had custody at this point. That's what's truly traumatic about this situation."
ARREST AND LEGAL PROCESS
If there is going to be a happy ending to this "sad" and "complex" incident, as Sinagra described it, Paislee's biological parents and Shultis Sr will have to go through the legal system.
Shultis Jr and Sr were charged with first-degree custodial interference and endangering the welfare of a child.
Both appeared in court Wednesday and are scheduled to return to court on April 27. They were released on bail.
They were spotted outside of their home about two hours before the 3pm court appearance.
Shultis Sr shook his head when The Sun asked for comment, and Shultis Jr's lawyer declined comment and shielded him from the press.
Cooper, who was held on an unrelated family court warrant, appeared in court about an hour later on charges of second-degree custodial interference and endangering the welfare of a child.
Her lawyer urged people to wait for all the facts to come out and "ignore sensational Facebook posts and media."
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