HAMDEN, Ohio — A small village in southern Ohio is grappling with a disturbing question: How did 16 children endure years of abuse and neglect inside a home — right in the community — without anyone knowing?
Residents of Hamden, workers at nearby stores where the family shopped, and even the law enforcement officers who responded to the scene have been left struggling to make sense of it. The limited details released by investigators have done little to provide a complete picture.
The children were never enrolled in any school, the family had moved throughout southern Ohio over the past two decades, and neighbors reported they had never once laid eyes on a child at the property. According to investigators, the children were kept largely confined to a single small room under deeply disturbing conditions.
Authorities said they had originally gone to the home on Tuesday for an unrelated investigation when they stumbled upon the children — who ranged in age from 1 and a half years old to 18 years old. Some of the children were unable to speak.
Seven of the children were transported to hospitals, with one reported to be in critical condition. Their conditions as of Thursday were not immediately known. The Ohio Department of Children and Youth has been granted temporary custody of all 16 children.
A neighbor named Josh Odell, who has a direct view of the backyard, told WSYX-TV that he had never once seen a child there. “I really hope they all get better. But, I mean, it obviously weighed on my conscience that I wished I could have done something,” he said.
Another neighbor, Joseph Stewart, 60, told the Associated Press that he saw “no kids at all” during the time the family lived three houses down from him — a home he said he could clearly see from the street. “It’s a sad situation,” Stewart said. He has lived on the street for six years and described it as “a quiet neighborhood.”
Four adults — identified as the children’s parents and grandparents — were taken into custody on child endangerment charges. Gary Siders Jr., 36, Gary Siders, 73, Elizabeth Siders, 33, and Christina Siders, 67, all pleaded not guilty. Each had their bond set at $300,000.
Investigators have not publicly disclosed the nature of the original investigation that brought them to the home on Tuesday. However, court records indicate that a warrant had been issued that same day for Siders Jr. related to misdemeanor indecent exposure charges stemming from alleged incidents on four separate days in May. He has also pleaded not guilty to those charges.
By Thursday, the home — located roughly 60 miles southeast of Columbus — had been boarded up, with police tape and piles of trash still visible outside. The day before, a door had been left open, revealing heaps of garbage and children’s toys inside, along with a debris-filled yard and deck strewn with discarded tires and a high chair.
The house sits on a road running alongside a steep railroad embankment in a village of fewer than 1,000 people. While neighboring properties are separated by trees and dense brush, the home itself is clearly visible from the road.
Investigators said the family appeared to have deliberately avoided leaving a medical or government paper trail as they moved around southern Ohio over the years. The only school district in the area confirmed it has no record of any of the children ever being enrolled.
“These folks were pretty good at hiding these kids,” Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said during a news conference Wednesday.
Authorities are also reviewing whether the family had ever been reported to any child services agencies in the past.
According to investigators, the children spent most of their time crammed into a room measuring approximately 12 feet by 12 feet, surrounded by human waste.
“They looked like almost feral animals. It was terrible,” Wilson said.
