At first, people around this small farming town - even the horses grazing alongside the fence - seemed puzzled about the uniformed men who came to dig for the glass jars.

Now they know why. And their curiosity has turned to hand-over-the-mouth shock.

In this undated photo released by the Lafayette County Sheriff's Department, Jared Leroy Mohler, 48, of Columbia, Missouri., David A. Mohler, 52, of Lamoni, Iowa, Burrell Edward Mohler Sr., 77, of Independence, Missouri, Burrell Edward Mohler Jr., 53, also of Independence, Missouri and Roland Neil Mohler, 47, of Bates City, Missouri from left, are seen. Credit:AP

Police say that for years Burrell Mohler and his sons, well known in the Bates City community and active in the church, led a bizarre, ritualistic child sex ring that included bestiality and the rape and sodomy of the elder Mohler's grandchildren.

They held mock weddings in which girls as young as five would be paired with their father, uncles or grandfather and sent to the privacy of a chicken coop for consummation.