While executing an unrelated search warrant, law enforcement discovered 16 children in an isolated Ohio home, ranging in age from 18-month-old twins to an 18-year-old. Parents Gary Siders Jr. and Elizabeth Siders face neglect allegations, while Gary Jr. has also been charged with misdemeanor counts of public indecency. All 16 children were taken to the hospital for evaluation after being removed from the home, with several requiring additional treatment.

In this episode of Zone 7, Sheryl McCollum talks with Law&Crime correspondent Angenette Levy about the case. Angenette describes the deplorable living conditions inside the home, what school and truancy records reveal about the children’s years away from the classroom, and the medical treatment some required after being removed from the home. She and Sheryl also look at how an entire family could seemingly disappear from public view and what is known about how the household was being supported financially. Angenette closes the episode with a remarkable story of the day she was assigned to cover an active Amber Alert and ended up finding the missing toddler at the center of it.

Highlights:

(0:00) Sheryl introduces Angenette Levy and explains why she turned to her for the latest on the Ohio case

(3:00) Authorities execute a sealed search warrant and unexpectedly find 16 children inside the Ohio home

(5:30) What is known about the public indecency charges against Gary Siders Jr. and what remains unclear

(8:30) School and truancy records raise questions about the children’s years away from the classroom

(12:30) A neighbor recalls seeing children run toward the house and later came to believe the property was vacant

(15:00) Reports about the conditions inside the home

(17:15) Angenette looks at public benefits, a local diaper bank, and questions how the household was being supported

(20:00) The role schools and mandated reporters can play in identifying children at risk

(22:45) The children’s medical treatment after being removed from the home

(26:00) Angenette shares how she found a missing toddler while covering an Amber Alert

(33:00) Where the children are now and the additional support provided through therapeutic foster care

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Angenette Levy is a correspondent and host with Law&Crime Network. She has covered major trials, including Steven Avery, Kyle Rittenhouse, and Derek Chauvin, and was Emmy-nominated in 2015 for a story in which she helped find a missing toddler during an active Amber Alert.

Sheryl “Mac” McCollum is an active crime scene investigator for a metro Atlanta police department and the director of the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute, which partners with colleges and universities nationwide. With more than four decades of experience, she has worked on thousands of cold cases using her investigative system, The Last 24/361, which integrates evidence, media, and advanced forensic testing.

Her work on high-profile cases, including The Boston Strangler, Natalie Holloway, Tupac Shakur and the Moore’s Ford Bridge lynching, led to her Emmy Award for CSI: Atlanta and induction into the National Law Enforcement Hall of Fame in 2023.

Social Links:

Email: coldcase2004@gmail.com

X: @ColdCaseTips

Facebook: @sheryl.mccollum

Instagram: @officialzone7podcast

TikTok: @Sheryl.McCollum

Sheryl’s new book, Swans Don’t Swim in a Sewer: Solving the Cold Case of the Flint

River Killer’s Daughter, is available now wherever books are sold.