Missing for two years, girl found alive underneath staircase 

New York: A six-year-old missing girl has been found alive—in good health— from a makeshift room underneath a staircase in a house in New York state, said police. 

According to police, the girl identified as Paislee Shultis disappeared in 2019 and law enforcers suspected that she was abducted by her biological non-custodial parents.

Police said they received a tip about the girl’s whereabouts and obtained a search warrant and went to the girl’s grandfather’s house where they searched for about an hour before locating the child hidden in a makeshift room—under a closed staircase leading to the basement.  

Upon removing the step boards, the girl and her mother Kimberly were found hiding in the dark and wet enclosure, police said. 

BREAKING! We're overjoyed that Paislee Shultis, a young girl missing since 2019, has been FOUND SAFE in a secret room under a staircase in Saugerties, New York. https://t.co/WoFciwXZ5U via @nypmetro

— NCMEC (@MissingKids) February 15, 2022

Paislee Shultis went missing from Spencer, New York, about 180 miles (290 km) to the west.

Paislee was taken to police headquarters where paramedics examined her, police told. However, the girl was in good health and released to her legal guardian. 

Police arrested her parents and the girl's grandfather Kirk Shultis (57). 

They face charges of custodial interference and endangering the welfare of a child.