A TROUBLING paper trail has revealed how 16 children described as “almost feral” repeatedly slipped from public view before being rescued from an alleged house of horrors.
The six oldest siblings were once enrolled in school, but records show they later missed an entire year before officials lost track of their parents.
Elizabeth Siders, the mother of all 16 children, has also denied that her children lived like ‘feral animals,’ her attorney said
Gary Siders Jr., the father of the 16 children, is facing indecency exposure charges from a separate incident in May
The disturbing timeline stretches across several communities in southeastern Ohio before ending at a home in Hamden on June 30.
“They were pretty adept at keeping these kids out of sight and out of the eyes of investigators,” Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said on July 1.
Gary Siders Sr., 73, Christina Siders, 67, Gary Siders Jr., 36, and Elizabeth Siders, 33, were arrested after officers discovered the children.
Each adult was charged with 16 counts of felony child endangerment and has pleaded not guilty.
Authorities said the children, aged between 18 months and 18 years, had allegedly been isolated inside a filthy 12-foot-by-12-foot room.
Some could barely speak, while seven were hospitalized and two were flown to trauma centers after the rescue.
Investigators believe Elizabeth and Gary Jr. moved their growing family through at least three school districts over nearly two decades.
Two districts found no records for the children, but Gallia County Local Schools confirmed that the six eldest were enrolled at Addaville Elementary on August 26, 2020.
Their connection to the school system quickly fell apart.
By October 19, 2021, the six children had not attended a single day of the new school year despite classes starting eight weeks earlier, NBC affiliate WCMH reported.
A truancy case was opened over their prolonged absence.
However, the case was dismissed on January 7, 2022, because authorities could not find Gary Jr. and Elizabeth to serve them with court papers.
Gary Siders Sr.’s was arrested after officers discovered the children
Gary Sr, and Christina later applied for a marriage license in July 1978, when they were 25 and 19.
The children remained listed as students until April 12, 2022, when they were formally withdrawn after attending zero days that school year.
Gallia officials would only provide their enrollment dates and did not say how regularly the children attended during the previous academic year.
The district did confirm that none of the six attended during the 2021–22 school year.
The school records also exposed a generational link to the district.
Elizabeth attended Addaville Elementary, Kyger Creek Middle School and River Valley High School when she was known as Elizabeth Russell.
She withdrew for “home instruction” on April 29, 2008, during her freshman year.
One month earlier, the then-15-year-old had crossed into West Virginia to marry 18-year-old Gary Jr. at a Mason County courthouse.
Marriage records said Elizabeth had completed eighth grade, while Gary Jr. had finished ninth.
Two months after the wedding, Elizabeth gave birth to the couple’s first child, a girl, at a Gallia County hospital.
She returned to school in October 2008 and completed her sophomore year.
Police tape surrounds a home where authorities say they removed 16 children and arrested four adults in Hamden, Ohio, Wednesday, July 1, 2026
Debris is strewn on the front lawn of the Siders’ home in Hamden, about 79 miles southeast of Columbus
But on August 26, 2009, the first day of her junior year, she withdrew again to be homeschooled.
That same month, she gave birth to the couple’s second daughter.
Records show the family had moved from Gallipolis to a rural home around 15 miles north of the city by then.
They apparently remained at that address for about seven years as their family continued to grow.
Elizabeth gave birth to daughters in March 2011, March 2012, May 2013 and May 2016, as well as a son in September 2014.
All five children were born at a Gallia County hospital.
The address fell within the Gallia County Local Schools district, but officials would not disclose whether the children were enrolled or registered for homeschooling during those years.
District workers also searched old records and yearbooks for other members of the family.
They found that Christina, then Christina White, transferred from Point Pleasant Junior High in West Virginia to Hannan Trace High School in 1975.
She stayed for only the first semester.
No records were found showing that either Gary Jr. attended Gallia schools.
Gary Sr, and Christina later applied for a marriage license in July 1978, when they were 25 and 19.
By 2017, records placed Gary Jr. and Elizabeth at several different Gallia County addresses.
Gary Jr. was cited that January for driving without a booster seat and pleaded guilty, paying a $165 fine.
The address listed in that case differed from those recorded on the earlier birth certificates.
Elizabeth gave birth to another daughter in October 2017, with the certificate pointing to yet another home.
That property appeared to fall within Gallipolis City Schools, but the superintendent said the district had no records relating to the children.
Another son was born in October 2019, when the family was living just outside Gallipolis.
In September 2020, Elizabeth gave birth to a daughter while records listed a new address in Cheshire, around seven miles up the Ohio River.
It was during that period that the six eldest children briefly appeared in Gallia County’s school system before vanishing from classrooms.
Court records show twins were born in February 2022, although reporters were able to obtain a birth certificate for only one of them.
That document listed an address in Bloomer, Wisconsin.
Property records described the site as agricultural land with no residential building.
In November 2022, Elizabeth gave birth at 24 weeks to conjoined twins Faith Lee and Bailey Lee Siders in Columbus.
Both girls died of natural causes within an hour of being born.
Their birth certificates listed the family’s earlier Cheshire address.
Elizabeth had another set of twins, a boy and a girl, at an Athens County hospital in January 2024.
Twin boys followed one year later.
Their January 2025 birth records placed the family in Hamden, a Vinton County community of around 700 people.
Vinton County schools said they had no enrollment or homeschooling records connected to the children.
The family’s hidden life finally unraveled in 2026.
Gary Jr. was accused of exposing himself to people outside his household on four dates in May.
A warrant was issued on June 30, the same day investigators arrived at the Ohmer Street property in connection with what officials called a parallel case involving domestic abuse and child neglect allegations.
Officers entered the home and discovered all 16 children.
Wilson later said investigators had not expected to find such a large number of children inside.
He warned that one or more might have died had officers arrived just one day later.
Seven spent the night in hospitals, while two required care at trauma centers.
All 16 were removed from the home and placed in state custody, with prosecutors later confirming they were safe and being cared for.
Gary Sr. was hospitalized after suffering a fall on July 7.
Doctors found a “serious” medical condition requiring specialist treatment, according to Vinton County Prosecutor William Archer.
Gary Sr. was released on a recognizance bond with GPS monitoring so the small county would not be forced to cover the cost of his hospital care.
He, Gary Jr. and Christina have been granted mental competency evaluations to determine whether they are fit to stand trial.
Elizabeth’s attorney has not requested an evaluation but said one was being considered.
A grand jury had not yet indicted the four adults as of late July, while the investigation into how the children remained largely unseen for years continued.