Police in upstate New York made multiple visits to the house where a missing 6-year-old girl was discovered hiding in a secret room on Monday, but they never had enough information for a warrant.

“Everything was hearsay,” Saugerties Police Chief Joseph Singara told the Post Wednesday. “Nobody had factual information.”

Kimberly Cooper, 33, and Kirk Shultis Jr., 32, are alleged to have abducted their daughter, Paislee Shultis, after losing custody of her in 2019 — and to have hidden her in a secret room below the stairs of her paternal grandfather’s house whenever cops came knocking, authorities said.

“As a parent, I can understand why they did it,” Singara said. “I can’t imagine what it would be like to relinquish custody of one of my children.

“But as a good parent, I think you have to understand that the most difficult thing to do, to give up your child, is the right thing to do if that’s what the courts are indicating,” he said. “I think this is really unfortunate for the family right now, because this is a step backwards.

“This is going to delay any possibility of the parents regaining custody of these children,” Singara said, adding: “I have empathy for them.”

Singara said a solid tip gave cops the intel they needed for a search warrant Monday night, when an eagle-eyed detective, who spotted something off about the staircase, noticed a piece of a blanket peeking through some cracks.

Detectives removed several of the steps to uncover the missing girl, Paislee, and her mother, Cooper, hiding among blankets in a space under the staircase, according to Singara

“After examining this staircase after the fact,” the chief said, “There were a number of screws that were put in that were stripped. That leads us to believe that that spot was used more often to hide the child and the mother each and every time we came to the house.

“We know it was used multiple times because there was a blanket in there, there was a teddy bear,” he said “It was set up so there was comfort for her when she was in there.”

Cops said that Paislee was quiet while police searched for her for about four hours late Monday.

Cooper was charged with custodial interference and endangering the welfare of a child, both misdemeanors, officials said.

She also was wanted on an active warrant issued through Ulster County Family Court, police said.

Shultis and his father, Kirk Shultis Sr., 57, were each charged with a felony count of custodial interference and a misdemeanor count of endangering the welfare of a child.

Shultis and his father were released on their own recognizance. Cooper made bail on Wednesday and was released.

The three defendants appeared in Saugerties Town Court, Wednesday, where prosecutors said they were considering upgrading the charges to felonies. 

Cooper, who missed the hearing due to a transportation issue, arrived late to court with a sweatshirt over her head to hide from news cameras.

Judge Claudia Andreassen waived her appearance.

Paislee was examined by paramedics Monday and found to be fine before she was released to the custody of her legal guardian and older sister at an undisclosed location.

She was 4 years old when her parents lost custody of her and her older sister in Spencer, NY, outside of Cayuga Heights more than 150 miles away, Singara told the Post. It’s unclear why authorities were taking the kids, and Singara said the family court records had been sealed.

On the day authorities were supposed to pick up the kids, Paislee’s parents fled with her to Saugerties, cops said. The older daughter had been in school at the time of the abduction. She ended up living with a legal guardian.

Singara said he sent detectives to check on Paislee Tuesday.

“They came back and gave a really good report,” he said. “They said she was doing really good. She didn’t seem to be bothered by anything–there was no indication she was having any issue with what occurred on the 14th.”

Shultis and his father are due back in court April 27th. Cooper’s next appearance is scheduled for March 2nd.