\u201cMost of our livestock was kept in better conditions than the children,\u201d said Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain. \u201cJust a disgusting scene.\u201d<\/p>\n
The children’s parents and two grandparents were charged with felony child endangerment, a prosecutor said.<\/p>\n
![\"This](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/this-combination-of-undated-booking-photos-provided-by-south-ZDHG6O26DVCBVK6Z7LQBL5KYX4.jpg\")
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This combination of undated booking photos provided by Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail on Wednesday, July 1, 2026, shows, clockwise starting at top left, Gary Siders Sr., Christine Siders, Elizabeth Siders and Gary Siders Jr. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n
Authorities found the children while carrying out a search warrant in an unrelated investigation, Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said at a news conference.<\/p>\n
Officials said it seemed as if no one outside the family knew about the children, who weren’t enrolled in school.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t know there were going to be 16 kids there,\u201d said Wilson, who was nearly at a loss for words in describing what officials found in the tiny village of Hamden that sits in one of Ohio’s poorest counties.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the type of thing that we\u2019re not used to seeing here in America,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Rescued children looked like ‘feral animals’<\/p>\n
![\"Items](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/items-including-a-high-chair-left-are-seen-in-a-home-where-a-DZRH4IB4VVHG3ILGNK6XY3UF2E.jpg\")
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Items including a high chair, left, are seen in a home where authorities say they removed 16 children and arrested four adults in Hamden, Ohio, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n
The sheriff said it appears the children spent most of their time in a room that was roughly 3.5 metres by 3.5 metres. He didn\u2019t disclose how the kids were kept inside the home, but said authorities didn\u2019t find any cages in the house.<\/p>\n
The children ranged in age from 1 1\/2 years to 18 years old and included both boys and girls, officials said. Seven were transported to hospitals in Columbus, and two were flown by helicopter. One was in critical condition while some of the others were admitted for care, Wilson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey looked like almost feral animals,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cIt was terrible.\u201d<\/p>\n
The children were in temporary custody of the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services.<\/p>\n
![\"Debris](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/debris-is-seen-inside-a-home-where-authorities-say-they-remo-5KV6GVW5OFCEVIS64564RDCA5M.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Debris is seen inside a home where authorities say they removed 16 children and arrested four adults in Hamden, Ohio, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n
Vinton County prosecuting attorney William Archer said the four adults were charged with second-degree felony child endangering because it involves \u201cserious physical harm\u201d.<\/p>\n
Gary Siders Jr, Gary Siders Sr, Christina Siders and Elizabeth Siders appeared in court, where a judge entered not guilty pleas on their behalf and set bond at US$300,000 for each. They have not yet been assigned lawyers.<\/p>\n
Steve Irwin, a spokesperson for the attorney general’s office, would not say whether all of the children are siblings or how they were related.<\/p>\n
Neighbour saw ‘no kids at all’<\/p>\n
![\"Police](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/police-tape-surrounds-a-home-where-authorities-say-they-remo-DF7V2NUHSRGMZFGE4NTP2UC7IU.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Police tape surrounds a home where authorities say they removed 16 children and arrested four adults in Hamden, Ohio, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n
The house where the children were found sits on a road tucked away alongside a steep railroad embankment, where tracks carry rumbling trains through Hamden. The closest neighbours are separated by trees and thick brush, but the house is easily visible from the road.<\/p>\n
An open door revealed bits of trash inside, while a wooden deck and the backyard were filled with discarded tyres, a high chair and other debris.<\/p>\n
Investigators said members of the family had moved around southern Ohio over the past two decades and that it looks like they avoided setting up medical and government records.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese folks were pretty good at hiding these kids,\u201d Wilson said.<\/p>\n
Investigators were reviewing whether the family had been reported to any children\u2019s services agencies in the past.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/a-cat-looks-out-from-a-side-door-opening-of-a-home-where-aut-QDSBM2JJJRGMJL2UF46NZTAVOM.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
A cat looks out from a side door opening of a home where authorities say they removed 16 children and arrested four adults in Hamden, Ohio, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n
Neighbour Joseph Stewart, 60, said he saw \u201cno kids at all\u201d since the family moved in three houses down and that he could clearly see the house and yard when passing by.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a sad situation,\u201d he said. Stewart has lived on the street for six years and called it \u201ca quiet neighbourhood\u201d.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, the home’s doors and windows stood open to the sweltering heat. A tangle of discarded children\u2019s items — two busted bicycles, a plastic play table, a beach pail and two infant carriers — stood in a pile in the yard.<\/p>\n
Hamden has a population of less than 1000 people and is about 97 kilometres southeast of Columbus.<\/p>\n
The discovery of the children is reminiscent of past horrific cases of family abuse.<\/p>\n
In 2019, David and Louise Turpin pleaded guilty to torture and years of abuse<\/a> that included shackling some of their 13 children at their home in California, starving them and providing only a minimal education.<\/p>\n