Sodder children disappearance

On Christmas Eve, December 24, 1945, a fire destroyed the Sodder home in Fayetteville, West Virginia, United States. At the time, it was owned by George Sodder, his wife Jennie, and her nine children. During the fire, George, Jennie, and four of the nine children escaped. The bodies of the other five children have never been found. The Sodders believed for the rest of their lives that the five missing children survived.[1]

In the 1950s, as they came to doubt that the children had died, they put up a billboard at the site along State Route 16 with pictures of the five.[2]

In support of their belief that the children survived, the Sodders have pointed to a number of unusual circumstances before and during the fire.

Circumstances

  • Phone rang from unknown caller who laughed right before the call ended
  • After, Jennie observed that the curtains were open and lights were still on which was abnormal as the sodder kids when they stayed up later than their parents
  • A loud bang and rolling sound from the roof followed 30 minutes later by the smell of smoke
  • After escaping fire they couldn’t locate the ladder which later was found in a different spot than usual
  • Georges two business trucks didn’t start but they started perfectly the day before
  • Christmas lights stayed on for a couple minutes contradicting the fire marshals claim of electrical failure
  • Phone line cut by an unidentified male who was claimed to be arrested
  • Appliances and portions of the tin roof still remained as the fire wasn’t hot enough to completely destroy appliances which contradicts the authorities claims that the children were cremated as the fire wasn’t hot enough to destroy even the bones of the kids which later was confirmed after Jennie called a funeral home and asked how long it would take for bones to be completely destroyed when burned in a household fire.


Authorities say the fire was caused by an electric fire and that the remains were cremated in the fire. The Sodders believed the Sicilian Mafia or someone else kidnapped the children due to George's anti-Benito Mussolini views.

References

  1. ↑ Abbott, Karen (December 25, 2012). "The Children Who Went Up In Smoke". Smithsonian. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  2. ↑ Horn, Stacy (December 23, 2005). "Mystery of Missing Children Haunts W.Va. Town". National Public Radio. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
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