New Questions: School truancy records raise fresh doubts about where the Siders family in Ohio was really living
GALLIPOLIS, Ohio (WCMH) — Records show the eldest of the 16 Vinton County children rescued from a home missed every day of school in the 2021-2022 school year, sparking a dismissed truancy case.
Gary Siders, 73, Christina Siders, 66, Gary Siders II, 36, and Elizabeth Siders, 33, were arrested on June 30, and each was charged with 16 counts of endangering children. Attorney General Andy Wilson said 16 children were allegedly kept in a 12-by-12 room and were rescued with severe medical concerns. The case sparked numerous questions, including curiosity as to how 16 children were undetected by state agencies. See previous coverage in the video player above.
Records obtained by NBC4 reveal Gallia County was aware of at least some of the children; Gary II and Elizabeth Siders were summoned to Juvenile Court after their eldest six children did not attend any days of school in the 2021-2022 school year.
A compliant was filed on Oct. 19, 2021, that said six Siders children, who were enrolled at Addaville Elementary in the Gallia County Local School District, had yet to attend a day of school. Gallia Local Superintendent Phillip Kuhn confirmed the first day of school that year was Aug. 25, meaning the kids had missed eight weeks of classes.
Records show the case was dismissed on Jan. 7, 2022, because Gary II and Elizabeth Siders could not be served and their whereabouts were unknown.
When asked about the circumstances leading to the dismissal, Judge Thomas Moulton Jr. — who presided over the case — cited the Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct. The code says a judge should not make any public statement “that might reasonably be expected to affect the outcome or impair the fairness of a matter pending or impending in any court.”
“Therefore I am not able to comment on any cases involving the Siders children that may have taken place in Gallia County,” Moulton said.
In the truancy court records, the Siders are listed as living at a Cheshire, Ohio, mailing address. The family is continually connected to the Cheshire address except for early 2022 and August 2023.
| September 2020 | Siders live at Cheshire address, per birth records |
| October 2021 | Siders live at Cheshire address, per court records |
| January 2022 | Siders cannot be located by Gallia County |
| February 2022 | Elizabeth gives birth in Gallia County, lists a Wisconsin home address on birth records |
| November 2022 | Siders live at Cheshire address, per birth records |
| August 2023 | Unaffiliated man lives at the Cheshire address, per a sheriff’s report |
| January 2024 | Siders live at Cheshire address, per birth records |
Records show the address appears on Siders family records before and after early 2022, but not around the time of the truancy case. The Cheshire address first appears on birth records for Siders children from September 2020 and again in the truancy court records.
In February 2022 — one month after the truancy case was dismissed — state records show Elizabeth Siders gave birth at a Gallia County hospital. On the birth certificate, the family listed a location in Chippewa County, Wisconsin, as their home address. It is the only time the Siders listed an address outside of southeastern Ohio on birth records.
Property records list the Wisconsin address as a miscellaneous agricultural property without a residential structure. Chippewa County officials said they had no record of any calls or visits to the location.
In November 2022, Elizabeth gave birth at a Columbus hospital. The birth records again list the Cheshire residence as the Siders’ home address. In January 2024, Elizabeth gave birth to twins at a Gallia County hospital. The birth records again list the same Cheshire address. However, records indicate the Siders did not live at the home at one point in 2023.
Gallia County Sheriff’s office records show a report of a smashed vehicle window in August 2023 at the Cheshire home. The person who called deputies to report the vehicle damage lived at the Cheshire home but is unaffiliated with the Siders, marking a second time the Siders were absent from the Cheshire home. The sheriff had no other records of a response to the home between 2020 and 2024.
Gallia County officials said there were no other truancy cases affiliated with the Siders family. The other two school districts the Siders were known to have lived in — Gallipolis and Vinton County — both said they have no responsive records relating to the Siders and would not be able to share information if they had.
