Authorities in Ohio charged four adults with child endangerment after rescuing 16 children from a dilapidated home in the rural county of Vinton

Police raiding the home in Hamden found 16 children, ages 18 months to 18 years, living in a 12X12ft room filled with human waste

The Siders family reportedly had lived in the home for nearly five years, but neighbors never knew the family had minors and saw “no kids at all”

Authorities say this was not a case of human trafficking and involved a single family

Gary Siders Sr., Gary Siders Jr., Christina Siders and Elizabeth Siders appeared in court Wednesday were charged with second-degree felony child endangerment

The judge entered not guilty pleas on their behalf, but barred each defendant from contacting each other defendants

Police tape seals off the home where authorities say they removed 16 children and arrested four adults in Hamden, Vinton County, Ohio, on Wednesday, July 1

Sixteen children from the same family who were rescued from a dilapidated home in Vinton County, 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 adults in the home it is believed ,are the parents and grandparents of the rescued children

The children’s parents and two grandparents were charged with felony child endangerment, a prosecutor said. Officials emphasized the case involved one family.
Authorities in Vinton County found the children while executing a search warrant in an unrelated investigation on a home in the tiny village of Hamden that sits in one of Ohio’s poorest counties, Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said at a news conference on Wednesday.
“We didn’t know there were going to be 16 kids there,” said Wilson.
“It’s the type of thing that we’re not used to seeing here in America,” he said.

Authorities said the rescued children looked like “feral animals”. The children’s mother Elizabeth Siders [right], and their grandmother Christina Siders [left], were present in the home. Both women have been charged with child endangerment

The sheriff said it appears the children spent most of their time in a room that was roughly 12 feet by 12 feet.
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 Children’s dad Gary Siders Jr. [right], and his father Gary Siders Sr. [left], both residents of the Hamden home similarly face charges of child endangerment

Garbage strewn on the front lawn of a home where authorities in Vinton County, Ohio, removed 16 children and arrested four adults on Wednesday, July 1

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.”

Photo of the pile of junk on the lawn of the rundown home where four adults and 16 children lived for 4 to five years according to county officials

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 southeast of Columbus.