What began as a routine attempt to locate a parentally abducted three-year-old child would expose something far more horrifying inside a home in Portage, Wisconsin.

When officers arrived at 304 West Oneida Street, nearly everyone inside lied about who they were. Then, at the police station, one woman revealed that officers had unknowingly left someone behind: an severely injured 11-year-old boy hiding inside an upstairs closet.

But the child wasn’t the only secret concealed within the house. Freshly disturbed soil and newly planted flowers in the backyard would lead investigators to an even darker discovery.

In Part 1 of the Portage House of Horrors, we follow the investigation from the officers’ first knock on the door through the rescue of A.C.G., the discovery of Tammie Garlin’s body, and the multistate search for Michael Sisk.

Content warning: This episode discusses severe child abuse, torture, domestic violence, and murder. Listener discretion is strongly advised.

SOURCES:

• Columbia County Circuit Court records obtained through the Columbia County Clerk of Courts
• A personal interview with retired Portage Police Detective Mark Hahn
• “House of Horrors,” published by Milwaukee Magazine on March 5, 2008
• This case was recommended to Dark Matter Moms by retired Portage Police Detective Daniel Pionke

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