Overview
- Sixteen children were removed from a Hamden, Ohio, home after deputies found them living in squalid conditions and several required hospital care, with the initial search occurring on June 30, 2026.
- Four relatives — Gary Siders Jr., Elizabeth Siders, Gary Siders Sr., and Christina Siders — have been charged with multiple counts of felony child endangerment and have pleaded not guilty.
- All 16 children remain in state custody and are receiving medical and therapeutic care while Ohio approved roughly $1 million in emergency funds to cover placements and services.
- A recent motion filed for defendant Christina Siders says she was the sole adult caregiver who paid household expenses and had her own medical burdens, and separately jail booking video of her was published by media outlets.
- Court gag orders limit what attorneys and officials may say publicly, prosecutors are rebuilding fragmented school and medical records to present to a grand jury, and the case has strained Vinton County’s child-welfare resources.