The Siders family story is awful, but these similar cases prove it’s more common than we think

The shocking rescue of 16 children from a home in rural Ohio has left loads of people asking the same question: How could something like this go unnoticed for so long?

The children, aged between 18 months and 18 years, were found inside a home in Hamden after authorities carried out a search warrant linked to a separate investigation. Officials say they had been living in horrific conditions, with many allegedly confined to a tiny 12-foot room surrounded by human waste.

Sadly, it isn’t the first case where children have been found living in terrible conditions after years of neglect. Here are some other heartbreaking cases that shocked communities across the US and the UK.

Warning: This article contains details of child abuse, neglect and poor living conditions that some readers may find upsetting.

via Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail

8. Washington (2026): 10 children found living in squalor

Just a few months before the Ohio case, authorities rescued 10 children from a home in Maple Valley, Washington. According to Komo News, deputies had originally gone to the property after a 47-year-old woman was found dead. While inside, they discovered children aged between one and 10 living among rotten food, raw sewage, animal waste and other dangerous conditions.

Investigators said four families had been living in the home together. The children were taken into protective custody, and authorities have said criminal charges are expected as the investigation continues.

7. Wisconsin (2025): Teen weighed just 35 pounds

Last year, four people were charged after a 14-year-old girl was found weighing just 35 pounds inside a trailer in Wisconsin. According to Spectrum News 1, she had been denied regular food, water and access to the bathroom. She was allegedly forced to sleep on the floor inside a locked bedroom without a mattress.

The criminal complaint also included disturbing text messages in which family members allegedly discussed beating the teenager and withholding food as punishment.

Neighbours later said they were stunned by the allegations.

6. Stockport, England (2025): Seven children lived in a home ‘saturated’ with urine and faeces

Last October, the BBC reported that a safeguarding review revealed that seven children had been living for years inside a home in Stockport that police described as one of the worst they had ever seen. Officers found rooms filled with rubbish, dog faeces, urine and soiled nappies. There was no heating, running water or electricity, and almost no food inside the house.

The review also found the family had been known to social services for around a decade, with repeated reports raising concerns about neglect, poor school attendance and unsafe living conditions.

Despite years of involvement from different agencies, the children remained in the home until police uncovered the full extent of the conditions in 2023.

5. Michigan (2025): Three siblings found living alone for four years

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Another case that shocked America involved three children who had allegedly been living alone inside a filthy Michigan home for at least four years. Deputies found the siblings, aged 12, 13 and 15, surrounded by mould, rubbish and human waste after responding to a welfare check. Investigators later said the children had fallen through the education system and had been living without adult care for years.

According to Click On Detroit, their mother was later charged with child abuse after previously pleading guilty to welfare fraud.

4. Florida (2025): Six children locked inside separate bedrooms

Police in Florida rescued six children from a home where investigators said they had been locked inside separate bedrooms without regular access to food or water. Authorities found exposed wiring, structural damage and human waste throughout the property. Investigators also said the only toilet available was a child’s potty-training seat.

According to Fox 35 Orlando, the parents were later arrested and charged with multiple counts of child neglect.

3. Pennsylvania (2023): Seven children rescued from filthy trailer

In Pennsylvania, police discovered seven children living in what they described as unsafe and unsanitary conditions. This was after they received reports that two kids had been searching an abandoned trailer for blankets for their pet rats.

As per ABC 7, investigators found faeces throughout the family’s trailer, a padlocked fridge and hidden children living inside.

The children, aged between four and 16, were taken into protective custody. Their parents later pleaded guilty to multiple child endangerment charges.

2. Wisconsin (2023): Boys locked in filthy room for years

Neighbours raised the alarm in Milwaukee after spotting two young boys wandering outside naked. Police later found the children, aged seven and nine, locked inside a filthy room surrounded by rubbish and human waste. Investigators said the boys had not attended school or received proper medical care for years. According to documents obtained by CNN, they were locked in filthy rooms.

Their mother was later sentenced to 10 years in prison, while her boyfriend also faced charges.

1. California (2018): The Turpin family case

Perhaps the most well-known case happened in California in 2018, when one of the Turpin siblings escaped and called 911. Police discovered 13 siblings, aged between two and 29, living inside what became known as the “House of Horrors”.

Investigators said some had been chained to beds, while others had been starved, beaten and isolated for years. Many had not bathed for months and were severely malnourished.

News Nation Now reported that their parents, David and Louise Turpin, later admitted multiple abuse charges and were sentenced to life in prison.

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