A young girl reported missing in 2019 was found hidden under a staircase by officers searching a home in New York's Hudson Valley, police said Tuesday.
The child was found in good health Monday night in a Saugerties home about 130 miles (210 kilometers) east of Cayuga Heights, where she was reported missing in July 2019, when she was 4 years old, according to Saugerties police.
Police said they initially suspected she had been abducted by her noncustodial parents.
Officers executing a search warrant found the girl hidden with her noncustodial mother in a cold, wet, makeshift enclosure under a basement staircase after about an hour of looking. They caught a first glimpse of the girl’s feet after removing some wooden steps, according to police.
Paramedics found the girl to be in good health. She was turned over to her legal guardian and reunited with her older sister.
The noncustodial parents and a third person were arraigned on charges of custodial interference and endangering the welfare of a child.
It could not immediately be determined whether any of them had attorneys to represent them.
