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AG: ‘Almost indescribable’, details released about scene after children found in ‘deplorable’ conditions [OH]
WSAZ TV-3 ^ | July 01, 2026 | WSAZ News Staff

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.


TOPICS: Health/Medicine; Local News; Pets/Animals; Society
KEYWORDS: andywilson; christinasiders; elizabethsiders; garysidersjr; garysiderssr; ohio; ryancain; vintoncounty; whitetrash
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1 posted on 07/01/2026 11:48:58 AM PDT by Red Badger
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To: Red Badger

Man, them’s some hard looking faces.


2 posted on 07/01/2026 11:51:20 AM PDT by fidelis (June is the Month of Devotion to to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Pass it on!)
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To: Red Badger
DOJ: More than 475k children trafficked to US under Biden, 300k unaccounted for
June 12, 2026

299,984 remain unaccounted for.

3 posted on 07/01/2026 11:53:31 AM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
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To: Red Badger

I’ve said for a while that Ohio can go up against Florida at any time.


4 posted on 07/01/2026 11:55:10 AM PDT by caver ( )
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To: Red Badger

From what I read, all of the 16 children were procreated and birthed by the son’s wife.

And the report indicated many or most of the children were mentally retarded.


5 posted on 07/01/2026 11:58:43 AM PDT by Presbyterian Reporter
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To: Red Badger

“Four people were arrested and charged after investigators searched a home in the Hamden area and discovered 16 children inside Tuesday.” How did they ever get custody of the kids?


6 posted on 07/01/2026 11:59:06 AM PDT by kawhill (Dywedwch Wrthbym because + Add translation Welsh-English dictionary 'Tell Us')
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To: fidelis

The younger woman (Elizabeth) could be the “BEFORE” pic in a Visine ad. But I dunno if there’s enough Visine in the world.

Can’t say for sure whether she’d clean up good or not.


7 posted on 07/01/2026 11:59:31 AM PDT by dayglored (This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalms 118:24)
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To: Presbyterian Reporter
> From what I read, all of the 16 children were procreated and birthed by the son’s wife.

Wow, they must have started when Elizabeth was in her early teens.

> And the report indicated many or most of the children were mentally retarded.

Sadly, that's not surprising.

8 posted on 07/01/2026 12:02:13 PM PDT by dayglored (This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalms 118:24)
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To: Red Badger

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/adults-arrested-16-children-found-deplorable-conditions-southern-ohio-rcna352552

“Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain called the home “disgusting,” saying it showed signs of human feces. He believes the children were being kept in a 12-by-12 room for nearly four years.”

— snip —

“The children were taken to the hospital; some have since been examined and released. One was placed in intensive care at one point, Wilson said, and two were flown to Level One trauma centers because of their injuries.

Some of the children can’t communicate at all, and others have “limited” speech, officials said. None were enrolled in school, and the eldest — 18 and described as developmentally disabled — could not spell her own name.”


9 posted on 07/01/2026 12:03:36 PM PDT by DFG
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To: Red Badger

Who was footing the bill for these monsters? What government departments were sending them a check each that allowed them to live?


10 posted on 07/01/2026 12:08:04 PM PDT by CaptainK ("No matter how cynical you get, it is impossible to keep up” )
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To: Red Badger

So “indescribable” the cops didn’t bother trying, I guess. 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. I doubt either of those gals had 8 kids, let alone 16.


11 posted on 07/01/2026 12:08:41 PM PDT by subterfuge (What happened to my tagline?)
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To: DFG
None were enrolled in school, and the eldest — 18 and described as developmentally disabled — could not spell her own name.”

Unfortunately she'd be equally illiterate if she had gone to school in way too many Democrat run schools.

12 posted on 07/01/2026 12:08:55 PM PDT by Tell It Right (1 Thessalonians 5:21 -- Put everything to the test, hold fast to that which is true.)
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To: dayglored

“”””Wow, they must have started when Elizabeth was in her early teens.”””


Youngest child is 1 and oldest child is 18.

So if my math is correct that is 16 children in 17 years. Now there may be some twins or triplets that was not reported.


13 posted on 07/01/2026 12:10:46 PM PDT by Presbyterian Reporter
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To: Presbyterian Reporter

“From what I read, all of the 16 children were procreated and birthed by the son’s wife.

And the report indicated many or most of the children were mentally retarded.”

The wife probably didn’t have to change her last name...


14 posted on 07/01/2026 12:16:12 PM PDT by TheDon (Remember the J6 political prisoners! Remember Ashli Babbitt!)
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To: Red Badger

You can pick your friends...you can pick your beliefs...you can pick your government.

But you can’t pick your family.


15 posted on 07/01/2026 12:24:18 PM PDT by logi_cal869 (-cynicus the "concern troll" a/o 10/03/2018 "/!i!! &@$%&*(@ -')
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To: Red Badger

1. “The per capita income in Vinton County, OH is $25,352 annually. Our map shows which parts of the county are lower or higher than this average. High-earning areas are in green, and low-earning areas of Vinton County are in red. Per-capita income differs from household income in that it will appear lower in areas with more children and where only one adult is employed.”
Can
https://bestneighborhood.org/per-capita-income-vinton-county-oh/

2. Vinton County, Ohio Population 2026
Updated April 2026 · US Census ACS 2023 5-Year Estimates · 88th-largest in Ohio

The population of Vinton County, Ohio is 12,686 as of the 2023 American Community Survey, making it the 88th-largest county in Ohio. The median household income is $53,813, the median home value is $131,700, and the median age is 43.5.

The population of Vinton County has declined 6.4% since 2010 (13,405 → 12,545), a -0.47% annualized rate.

https://www.populationreview.org/county/vinton-county-oh

Southern Ohio. Notice the source discrepancies.

More govt.


16 posted on 07/01/2026 12:25:44 PM PDT by Varsity Flight ( "War by 🙏 the prophesies set before you." ) I Timothy 1:18. Nazarite warriors. 10.5.6.5 These Days)
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To: Red Badger

No meth heads in that lineup. 🙄


17 posted on 07/01/2026 12:27:34 PM PDT by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped)
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To: logi_cal869

You can pick your friends...you can pick your nose....but you can’t pick your friend’s nose.............


18 posted on 07/01/2026 12:29:06 PM PDT by Red Badger (Iryna Zarutska, May 22, 2002 Kyiv, Ukraine – August 22, 2025 Charlotte, North Carolina Say her name)
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To: Red Badger

I worked a couple years ago for a company around Athens, OH which is the next county over and the 2 women look familiar.... I wouldn’t be surprised if they were where i worked or related to someone I worked with at the time.


19 posted on 07/01/2026 12:39:24 PM PDT by reed13k ( )
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To: Varsity Flight

Vinton is the least populated county in the state.


20 posted on 07/01/2026 12:41:41 PM PDT by reed13k ( )
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