16 children rescued from Ohio home were 'almost feral,' authorities say

HAMDEN, Ohio (AP) — Sixteen children from the same family who were rescued from a dilapidated home in rural Ohio were living in wretched conditions with human waste all around, confined to just one room over much of the past four years, authorities said Wednesday.

Some of the children discovered Tuesday were unable to speak and one — an 18-year-old who was developmentally disabled — could not even write her name, investigators said.

“Most of our livestock was kept in better conditions than the children,” said Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain. “Just a disgusting scene.”

The children's parents and two grandparents were charged with felony child endangerment, a prosecutor said.

Authorities found the children while carrying out a search warrant in an unrelated investigation, Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said Wednesday at a news conference.

Officials said it seemed as if no one outside the family knew about the children, who weren't enrolled in school.

“We didn’t know there were going to be 16 kids there,” 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.

“It’s the type of thing that we’re not used to seeing here in America,” he said.

The sheriff said it appears the children spent most of their time in a room that was roughly 12 feet by 12 feet (3.5 meters by 3.5 meters). He didn’t disclose how the kids were kept inside the home, but said authorities didn’t find any cages in the house.

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 on Tuesday while some of the others were admitted for care, Wilson said.

“They looked like almost feral animals,” Wilson said. “It was terrible.”

The children were in temporary custody of the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services.

Vinton County prosecuting attorney William Archer said the four adults were charged with second-degree felony child endangering because it involves “serious physical harm.”

Gary Siders Jr., Gary Siders Sr., Christina Siders and Elizabeth Siders appeared in court Wednesday where a judge entered not guilty pleas on their behalf and set bond at $300,000 for each. They have not yet been assigned lawyers.

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.

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 neighbors are separated by trees and thick brush, but the house is easily visible from the road.

An open door revealed bits of trash inside while a wooden deck and the backyard were filled with discarded tires, a high chair and other debris.

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.

“These folks were pretty good at hiding these kids,” Wilson said.

Investigators were reviewing whether the family was reported to any children’s services agencies in the past.

Neighbor Joseph Stewart, 60, said he saw “no kids at all” since the family moved in three houses down and that he could clearly see the house and yard when passing by.

“It’s a sad situation,” he said. Stewart has lived on the street for six years and called it “a quiet neighborhood.”

On Wednesday, the home's doors and windows stood open to the sweltering heat. A tangle of discarded children’s items -- two busted bicycles, a plastic play table, a beach pail and two infant carriers -- stood in a pile in the yard.

Hamden has a population of less than 1,000 people and is about 60 miles (97 kilometers) southeast of Columbus.

The discovery of the children is reminiscent of past horrific cases of family abuse.

In 2019, David and Louise Turpin pleaded guilty to torture and years of abuse that included shackling some of their 13 children at their home in California, starving them and providing only a minimal education.

They were sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years. The couple were arrested in 2018 after their 17-year-old daughter escaped from the home and called 911.

Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio. Associated Press writers Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, and Julie Watson in San Diego contributed.

Debris is seen inside a home where authorities say they removed 16 children and arrested four adults in Hamden, Ohio, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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. (Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail via AP)

Items are seen beyond police tape in a home where authorities say they removed 16 children and arrested four adults in Hamden, Ohio, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Debris is strewn on the front lawn of a home where authorities say they removed 16 children and arrested four adults in Hamden, Ohio, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Police tape and debris are seen at a home where authorities say they removed 16 children and arrested four adults in Hamden, Ohio, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Police tape surrounds a home where authorities say they removed 16 children and arrested four adults in Hamden, Ohio, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Police tape surrounds a home where authorities say they removed 16 children and arrested four adults in Hamden, Ohio, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

The dilapidated home where authorities say they removed 16 children and arrested four adults remains blocked off by crime scene tape on Wednesday, July 1, 2026 in Hamden, Ohio. (AP Photo/Julie Carr Smyth)

The dilapidated home where authorities say they removed 16 children and arrested four adults remains blocked off by crime scene tape on Wednesday, July 1, 2026 in Hamden, Ohio. (AP Photo/Julie Carr Smyth)

A sign marks the city's limits Wednesday, July 1, 2026 in Hamden, Ohio. (AP Photo/Julie Carr Smyth)

The dilapidated home where authorities say they removed 16 children and arrested four adults remains blocked off by crime scene tape on Wednesday, July 1, 2026 in Hamden, Ohio. (AP Photo/Julie Carr Smyth)

This image taken from video released by the Office of Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson shows Wilson speaks during a press conference Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (Office of Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson via AP)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia pounded the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and the surrounding region with scores of missiles and drones in a nighttime aerial attack that lasted for hours and killed at least 14 people, officials said Thursday.

Moscow's forces have in recent months intensified their ballistic missile attacks on Kyiv, exploiting Ukraine's chronic shortage of U.S.-made Patriot air defense interceptors, the sole weapon in its arsenal able to shoot down ballistic missiles.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has pleaded for countries to send more Patriot interceptors but international stockpiles are low amid the Iran war and Ukraine's more than four-year fight against Russia's all-out invasion.

Russia's overnight barrage also included cruise missiles and fast-flying jet-powered drones that put further strain on air defenses, the Ukrainian air force said.

Explosions boomed across the city in the dark. Kyiv was the primary target, but hits were recorded at 28 locations across the country, according to the air force. About 40 people were wounded, Zelenskyy said, as air raid warnings remained in place until after dawn.

“It was a massive attack,” Zelenskyy said on social media, adding that Russia “had been preparing (it) for a long time, combining different types of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones, aiming to cause as much damage as possible to civilian infrastructure."

But the Russian Defense Ministry said the attack struck a Kyiv industrial site manufacturing components for Ukraine’s Flamingo cruise missiles. Sites involved in the production and storage of drones, an ammunition depot and a logistics center were also hit, it said.

Russia and Ukraine have battered each other with drones and missiles as their armies struggle to gain the upper hand on the 1,250-kilometer (780-mile) front line, where huge numbers of drones are pinning down troops.

Ukraine has attempted to shift the war onto Russian soil through long-range drone strikes on oil facilities and other infrastructure.

The Russian Defense Ministry said Thursday morning that air defenses shot down 726 Ukrainian drones overnight over a number of Russian regions, annexed Crimea and the Black and Azov seas, in one of Ukraine's biggest aerial attacks of the war. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

Russia’s relentless onslaught on Kyiv has spooked other European countries, especially those bordering Ukraine, which fear what Russian President Vladimir Putin might have in store for the continent.

As the Russian attack on Kyiv unfolded, the Polish Armed Forces Operational Command activated its military aviation operations, ground-based air defense systems and its radar reconnaissance.

Polish and other NATO military aircraft were deployed to monitor the country’s airspace, Polish news agency PAP reported.

Romania’s Defense Ministry said that an unidentified drone crashed and caught fire in an uninhabited area near the border with Ukraine.

Two Spanish F-18 jets, deployed on an air policing mission in Romania, were scrambled after 2 a.m. local time to monitor a group of “air targets” near the border, the ministry said.

Also, Moldova’s Defense Ministry said that its airspace was breached by an unauthorized drone.

Russia's overnight strikes hit 12 locations across Kyiv’s Darnytskyi, Sviatoshynskyi and Solomianskyi districts, damaging residential buildings, a medical facility and an educational institution. Emergency crews were at the scene and pulled people out from under the rubble.

60-year-old Larysa Bondaruk sat on the ground, holding her cat, Chanel, which had been rescued by firefighters.

With tears in her eyes, she said that her neighbor’s grandson had been trapped under the rubble and died. Her apartment was badly damaged.

“A rocket hit the roof. It was incredibly loud. Immediately, debris and doors were blown out. There were columns of smoke, columns of fire, screams, crying and despair,” she said. “Two people were killed in our building, but the rescuers responded quickly and professionally. I am grateful to them for that.”

In Solomianskyi district, the top two floors of a 9-story residential building were destroyed and fires broke out on other floors. People were also trapped in two residential buildings and a school shelter.

AP reporters Vasilisa Stepanenko and Hanna Arhirova in Kyiv, Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin and Stephen McGrath in Leamington Spa, England contributed to this story.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Local residents stand in front of heavily damaged residential buildings after an overnight Russian attack, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Local residents sit in front of heavily damaged residential buildings after an overnight Russian attack, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A local resident enters a heavily damaged residential building after an overnight Russian attack, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

People take shelter in a metro station during a night Russian attack, in Kyiv, Ukraine, early Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)

Relatives of a person killed during an overnight Russian attack comfort each other, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026 (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

An elderly woman holds her car as she sits with her belongings in front of heavily damaged residential buildings after an overnight Russian attack, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

People take shelter in a metro station during a night Russian attack, in Kyiv, Ukraine, early Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk) CORRECTION: photographer's name corrected to Danylo Antoniuk instead of Dan Bashakov

People take shelter in a metro station during a night Russian attack, in Kyiv, Ukraine, early Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk) CORRECTION: photographer's name corrected to Danylo Antoniuk instead of Dan Bashakov

People take shelter in a metro station during a night Russian attack, in Kyiv, Ukraine, early Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk) CORRECTION: photographer's name corrected to Danylo Antoniuk instead of Dan Bashakov

People take shelter in a metro station during a night Russian attack, in Kyiv, Ukraine, early Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)

People take shelter in a metro station during a night Russian attack, in Kyiv, Ukraine, early Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)

People take shelter in a metro station during a night Russian attack, in Kyiv, Ukraine, early Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)

A policeman stands next to the bodies of two people killed during an overnight Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)