Newly released court documents and police records reveal disturbing conditions inside a remote Ohio residence, where authorities found 16 children in what officials have described as a real-life ‘House of Horrors.’
Investigators from the Vinton County Sheriff’s Office, working alongside the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, arrived at the Hamden property to carry out a search warrant tied to a separate case.
What they encountered, however, was far more alarming. Inside the run-down home, officers located 16 children between 18 months and 18 years old living amid filth, garbage, and human waste.
On July 1, 2026, Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson, Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain and Vinton County Prosecutor William Archer said the search was conducted at a residence on Ohmer Street in Hamden, and that four family members — Gary Siders Jr., Elizabeth Siders, Gary Siders Sr. and Christina Siders — were arraigned in Vinton County Court the same morning.
Each adult was charged with 16 counts of endangering children, a second-degree felony, and all four remained in jail on $300,000 bond, according to officials.
Prosecutors and court filings say the family had reportedly spent years moving around southern Ohio while staying off the radar of medical providers and government agencies.
Authorities believe the children were deliberately kept out of public view and that many of them had spent much of the last four years shut inside a single 12-by-12-foot room.
Investigators also reported that doors had padlocks on the outside, allegedly used to confine the children. The home reportedly had no working sanitation, leaving the children to use plastic buckets as toilets.
Evidence logs described mounds of trash, bottles of oil spread around sleeping areas, and signs that the children had gone without even the most basic dental and medical attention.
When deputies entered the home, some of the children reportedly could not speak or communicate. Their isolation was so severe that Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said they appeared ‘almost feral.’
One of the children, an 18-year-old with developmental disabilities, reportedly could not write her own name.
“Most of our livestock was kept in better conditions than these children,” Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain stated following the raid. “It was just a disgusting scene.”
Medical crews were called in immediately. Seven of the children were taken to hospitals in Columbus, and two of them were airlifted by helicopter because of the seriousness of their condition.
Officials later said some of the children were treated and released, while others remained hospitalized in serious condition. All 16 children were placed in the temporary custody of the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services.
Authorities said the case appears to involve prolonged and extreme interfamilial neglect and abuse, and added that they have found no evidence of any threat to the public.
Investigators also said the family had lived in multiple Ohio counties since 2008 and believe members of the Siders family largely avoided establishing medical and other government records during that time.
Four adults from the family, including the children’s parents and grandparents, have now been arrested and indicted on several second-degree felony counts of child endangerment involving serious physical harm.
People living nearby said they were stunned by what police uncovered, with neighbors saying the family remained so isolated that many had no idea children were inside the home at all.
“You see people coming and going occasionally, but you never imagine that kind of nightmare is happening on your own street,” one local resident told reporters.
“It’s terrifying to know those kids were hidden away behind closed doors right next door to us.”
Officials say forensic investigators and social service agencies are still examining previous addresses and housing records across southern Ohio as the criminal case against the four adults continues. Prosecutor William Archer said additional charges are expected as more information is uncovered.