Ohio Siders family arrested after 16 children discovered in severe neglect

Police in Hamden, Vinton County, Ohio, executed a search warrant at 182 Ohmer Street and found 16 children, aged 18 months to 18 years, living in squalor. The children were confined to a 12‑by‑12‑foot room, covered in insects and feces, and shared a single bathroom with other residents in a house built in 1900 that totals about 1,300 square feet.

Gary Siders Sr., Gary Siders Jr., Elizabeth Siders and their mother Christina Lynn Siders were arrested and each faces 16 felony counts of child endangerment. All have pleaded not guilty; a gag order limits public discussion of the case, and Gary Sr.’s competency is under medical review. The children have been removed to foster care, with officials saying it is unlikely they will be placed together.

The investigation revealed that the family had previously been on the radar after 2021 school‑district complaints about truancy, but the case stalled. A neighbor recalled the home once seemed clean, noting “I can remember going to their house. It would be clean, and I can remember smelling lavender,” though the relatives had not seen the family for years. The revelations have prompted scrutiny of how the neglect went undetected for so long.