For these clues they found a missing girl in New York 1:00
(CNN) --
Paislee Joann Shultis, the girl who was reported missing two years ago, was found hiding with her mother under the stairs of a New York home.
Over the years of investigating and searching for the girl, detectives had visited the home several times, but it wasn't until a key tip this week that authorities were able to obtain a search warrant and enter the basement of the home, where They discovered the missing girl.
Paislee Joann Shultis in a photo released by the Saugerties Police Department.
Paislee, now 6, was released to her legal guardian and reunited with her older sister, police said Tuesday.
She is in good health, but she has missed important experiences like attending school, police said.
His mother, father and a third man have been charged.
A lawyer for one of the three defendants has asked for patience until "the facts come to light."
Police chief reveals how a 6-year-old girl was found under a staircase two years after she was reported missing
This is what we know so far.
The police had visited a key house almost a dozen times
The minor was reported missing on July 13, 2019 in Cayuga Heights, a town outside of Ithaca in upstate New York.
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At the time, she was believed to have been kidnapped by her parents, Kimberly Cooper and Kirk Shultis Jr., who did not have custody, the Saugerties Police Department said in a news release this week.
Police Chief Joseph Sinagra confirmed to CNN that the two are Paislee's biological parents.
In the early days of the investigation, the girl's father denied knowing her whereabouts and told police that Cooper had taken his daughter and fled to Philadelphia, the news release added.
Several of the tips authorities received over the past two years led them to a home in Saugerties, a town about 160 miles (257 kilometers) east of Cayuga Heights.
But without a search warrant, officers were often denied entry and allowed only "limited access" on some occasions, the chief said.
"We had been to the house ... nearly a dozen times over a two-year period to follow up on leads," Sinagra said.
Kirk Shultis Sr. and his son gave officers limited access, police said, and were not allowed in the bedrooms or basement area.
And each time they denied knowing anything about the girl, the chief said.
He added: "They lied to us for two years, including the father, saying that he had no idea where his daughter was."
9-year-old girl is rescued from non-custodial parents 1:08
A key clue led to the girl's rescue
This week, an individual gave authorities the information they had been looking for to obtain a search warrant for that home, the chief told CNN.
"This lead was recent, it was factual, the information provided was corroborated," he said.
Although authorities had received other information about the house earlier, Sinagra said, they were unable to execute search warrants "based on rumours."
Police did not say what the information was or who it came from.
But as soon as the police received that information, they took action.
"We immediately sent uniformed police officers to the residence and they stationed themselves outside the residence at around 4" in the afternoon on February 14, 2022, he said.
"The purpose was to make sure no one came in or out while our detectives were drafting the search warrant," the chief added.
"Once the search warrant was issued, at approximately 8:06 p.m., we executed that search warrant."
What detectives found in the house
For the first time, detectives were able to search every room in the house and go to the basement, where the police chief said they found what looked like an apartment.
"There was a kitchen, there were bedrooms, a living room. One of the bedrooms was dedicated to Paislee. It had her name on the wall, there were clothes scattered around the bedroom, it looked like someone had slept in bed late." Sinagra said.
Residents told police the girl was not in the house and said they had arranged the room that way in case she ever returned.
The girl's room was also near a staircase, under which the police would eventually discover the girl and her mother hiding.
A detective made the discovery after noticing something strange on the stairs, and after looking closer he saw a blanket in the cracks, the chief said.
“So they grab some tools and start taking the ladder apart.
And as they take the steps off the ladder, they see a pair of feet, little feet,” the police chief said.
In that hiding place, police also found blankets, a pillow and clothing, the chief said, adding that it was clear the place had been used more than once.
"It is our opinion, based on our investigation, that this location was probably used each and every time we sent an agent to the residence to follow up on a lead," he said.
Parents Lost Custody Before She Disappeared, Chief Says
Cooper was charged with two misdemeanors: custodial interference and endangering the welfare of a child.
Carol K. Morgan, Cooper's attorney, said, "We should all wait until the facts are out. Everyone needs to be patient before drawing their own conclusions."
Kirk Shultis and Kirk Shultis Sr. were charged with Interfering with Custody in the First Degree, a felony, and Endangering the Welfare of a Child, a misdemeanor.
Lawyers for the two declined to comment.
Hearings for all three were held on Wednesday and their cases were postponed to a later date.
Sinagra told CNN that Cooper and Shultis lost custody of Paislee and her sister in 2019, before the disappearance.
A legal guardian was granted custody, the chief said.
"Depending on what was the reason Paislee and her sister were removed from their mother and father's custody, that may now have been corrected," he said.
"Whatever the deficiency is, it may have been corrected and those parents may have had full custody of their children today, but this is going to be a huge setback for them."
What we know about the girl's condition
As police searched the house, Paislee didn't make a sound, Sinagra said.
"Not a word, until they were fully exposed," she said, adding that when she was finally discovered by police, the girl was upset.
"I'm sure when she saw several of our officers, who were heavily armed...that was traumatizing for the girl."
But he was found to be in good health, and the next day, Tuesday, he seemed to be in good spirits, he said.
"We don't know what Paislee lived with for the last two years and we don't know what kind of damage she may have had because of the conditions she had to live in," the chief said.
"She was separated from her sister, she didn't have the functions of a normal girl, in terms of being able to go to school."
Police have not shared any details about the guardian Paislee was delivered to, or the nature of their relationship.
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