Posted on 07/01/2026 11:48:58 AM PDT by Red Badger
UPDATE 7/1/26 @ 1:14 p.m.
VINTON COUNTY, Ohio (WSAZ) - It’s a case officials are calling “almost indescribable.” Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson released new information about a child neglect case in Vinton County Wednesday afternoon, along with Sheriff Ryan Cain and other investigators.
Four people were arrested and charged after investigators searched a home in the Hamden area and discovered 16 children inside Tuesday.
AG Wilson said seven of those children were taken to Columbus hospitals, and at least two of them were life-flighted. He said the children have limited communication skills, and some of them can’t communicate at all. They range in ages from one and a half to 18 years old.
Gary Siders Sr., Gary Siders Jr., Christina Siders, and Elizabeth Siders are all facing 16 second-degree felony counts of child endangerment in the case.
Sheriff Ryan Cain described it as a “disgusting scene”, and mentioned that most livestock is kept in better conditions than these children were. Cain said a large number of the children were kept in a roughly 12x12 area, which he said seems to be where they spent most of the last four years.
AG Wilson said a lot of credit should go to local law enforcement in this case, and that if they had waited another 24 hours, the situation could have turned deadly.
When asked, officials said neighbors in the area had no idea there were even children inside the home.
Authorities also clarified that this is a family matter, and is not related to child trafficking.
ORIGINAL STORY
VINTON COUNTY, Ohio. (WSAZ) - Four people were arraigned Wednesday morning after a search found 16 children inside a home in the Hamden area of Vinton County, according to Vinton County Prosecuting Attorney William Archer.
The search happened in the 100 block of Ohmer Street Tuesday.
Following the search, officials arrested and identified the suspects as Gary Siders Sr., Gary Siders Jr., Christina Siders, and Elizabeth Siders.
All four are facing 16 second-degree felony counts of child endangerment.
All four pleaded not guilty to the child endangerment charges in Vinton County Common Pleas Court. They are each being held on a $300,000 bond, with no contact allowed with each other or the victims.
Four arrested, 16 children rescued from southeast Ohio home
In a news conference Tuesday night, officials said two children had to be life-flighted to trauma centers, and the victims are being treated at hospitals throughout Ohio.
Their ages range from one and a half to 18 years old. Officials declined to answer about the relation between the children.
Officials said there is a secondary investigation underway at the property where investigators described conditions as “deplorable.”
Previous coverage can be found here.
https://www.wsaz.com/2026/06/30/four-arrested-16-children-rescued-southeast-ohio-home/
Copyright 2026 WSAZ. All rights reserved.
Gary has some of that 3D vision. Ya pay extra for that.
The son’s wife, or the son’s sister? She looks like a daughter to the older two.
“””The son’s wife, or the son’s sister? She looks like a daughter to the older two.”””
Yes, I do believe that DNA testing of the 16 children, mother and father, and grandpa and grandma are in order.
Maybe it’s a Learing Center.
Millstone.
Some times, Yogi is wrong.
“”I’m guessing that the comment by the police about its “not human trafficking,” that it is a case of abusing the kids in the foster parent system.””
Very, very strange and terribly sad! Neighbors didn’t know children/young people were in the house? Did no one ever see the adults in town - shopping - anywhere? Did anyone drive?
I’m going to agree with you and bet that they are all foster kids (some adults) and that would answer another poster’s question - what did they live on? They were paid to keep them..which brings up another question - did no one ever check on them? I can’t believe neighbors weren’t aware of conditions at that HOUSE. How far from civilization did these people live?
Did the elders have family that knew what was going on? Probably no doubt others outside the home (?) were complicit in keeping this under wraps...Can’t really be called a HOME....
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