Authorities charge 4 adults after 16 children rescued from dilapidated Ohio home

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. Officials emphasized the case involved one family.

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.

“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 helicopters. One was in critical condition on Tuesday, Wilson said.

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

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. They have not yet been assigned lawyers.

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.

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.

They said it seemed as if no one outside the family knew about the children.

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

Neighbor Joseph Stewart, 60, said he saw “no kids at all” since the family moved in.

“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 writer Julie Watson contributed from San Diego.

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)

NEW YORK (AP) — Two people got to the top of the Empire State Building's antenna and unfurled a banner about “the power of love” at midday Wednesday, before descending, embracing, taking selfies and ultimately being arrested.

Dressed in black and wearing masks — but not tethers, it appeared — the two balanced on a narrow ledge and appeared to kiss atop the New York skyscraper's antenna, which rises 1,454 feet (443 meters) above midtown Manhattan, news helicopter video showed. The banner, reading “when the power of love beats the love of power the world knows peace,” waved in the wind.

Just after 12:30 p.m., they began to climb down, efficiently picking their way along the latticework of metal to a wider ledge, where one seemed to set up a piece of electronic equipment and got down on one knee. After the two kissed again and hugged, the other person took selfies with an outstretched left hand, as if examining a ring.

Police took the two climbers into custody after 1 p.m.; their names weren’t immediately released. No one was injured, police said.

Onlookers gaped from the sidewalks near the Art Deco office tower.

“It's crazy — it's like being in the movies,” said Jonathan Roman, a tourist visiting from the Scottish city of Glasgow. He and his 15-year-old son had tickets to go up to one of the observation platforms but arrived to find the building blocked off because of the antenna activity.

Still, the spectacle was “probably more exciting than going up to the viewing platform for the second time,” Roman reasoned.

Office workers wondered how the pair managed to get to the antenna of a high-profile building where visitors are screened and told not to bring large packages, sports equipment, costumes or masks, among other items.

“I just can’t believe they made it through security,” said Jessica Kaplan, who works at a company with offices in the building.

It wasn't clear how the pair gained access to the antenna, which rises well above public areas of the 102-story building. The building's management said in a statement that the episode was “unauthorized” and posed no danger to anyone in the building. But the management didn't immediately address questions about how the two reached the antenna and what interactions, if any, they had with security workers.

Daredevils have previously climbed the antenna and other parts of the Empire State Building. Those ascents have largely been unauthorized, but actor and musician Jared Leto was allowed to climb up to the base of the antenna from the 86th floor in 2023 to promote a tour.

Two people stand on the tip of the antenna of the Empire State Building while holding a banner on Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Two people descend the spire of the Empire State Building, in New York, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A person is shown atop the spire of the Empire State Building, in New York, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)