John Dollar, 58, and his wife, Linda, 51, failed to appear at a Department of Children & Families hearing Monday, and detectives think they have left the area.

The couple are wanted on one count each of aggravated child abuse involving torture.

Each charge carries a $100,000 bail stipulation, officials said.

Officials think the Dollars are traveling in a 1996 black and gold Prevost Marathon motor home with Florida license plate U06YAC. They might be towing a gold 2000 Lexus with Florida tag DH41D.

Investigators said the abuse likely was going on for years, including the four years the family lived in Hillsborough and earlier in Tennessee.

Delmer Rhoden, 77, who lived next door to the Dollars in Valrico for about 18 months, said he never saw signs of physical abuse.

He said John Dollar was unsociable and that for about a month after the Dollars moved in, he did not realize any children were living there.

``They never came outside, really, and never played outside,'' he said. ``They were the most polite kids I've ever met, but very, very quiet. They mostly kept to themselves and stayed inside.''

Citrus County sheriff's officials said the abuse investigation began Jan. 21 when the couple's 16-year-old son was treated at a hospital for suspicious injuries to his neck and head.

The boy appeared severely malnourished, and doctors alerted DCF officials, who informed the sheriff's office.

Sheriff's detectives interviewed each of the seven children and reported that five of them - 14-year-old twin boys, two girls ages 12 and 13, and the 16-year-old - told detectives they were forced to sleep in a closet in the master bedroom so their parents could keep an eye on them.

Sheriff's officials said the children told detectives they were subjected to shocks with electrical devices, had toenails pulled off with pliers, were bound by chains or locking plastic strips, and had their feet struck by hammers. All seven of the children were removed from the home and are in DCF custody.

Detectives said the five children they interviewed were so malnourished that they showed signs of stunted growth and weighed less than normal for their ages.

Sheriff's officials said the other two Dollar children were not abused.

All seven children said they were home schooled.

When detectives asked the five children why they were singled out for abuse, they said it was because they ``stole food, told lies and messed things up.''

The Dollars and their children moved to Citrus from Hillsborough County in August.

Anyone who has seen the couple or their vehicles is asked to call 911 or (352) 726-1121.

Reporter Jill King Greenwood can be reached at (813) 657-4534.