The Disappearance of the Sodder Children

On the night of December 24, 1945, George and Jennie Sodder and their nine children went to bed after celebrating Christmas Eve. However, around 1:00 a.m., a fire broke out in their home. George, Jennie, and four of their children managed to escape the flames, but five of the children - Maurice (14), Martha (12), Louis (9), Jennie (8), and Betty (5) - were nowhere to be found. The Sodders believed that their children had perished in the fire, but they later began to suspect that something else had happened.

After the fire was put out, firefighters searched the rubble for any remains of the missing children, but none were found. This led the Sodders to believe that their children may have escaped the fire and were still alive. They hired a private investigator to look into the case, and he discovered several unusual details that suggested foul play was involved.

For one, the Sodders found a hard, rubber object near the site of the fire, which they believed to be a napalm gelatinous incendiary device. They believed that this object had been used to start the fire. They also discovered that the telephone lines to their home had been cut, preventing them from calling for help.

Another strange detail was the discovery of a ladder that had been moved from its usual location on the night of the fire. The ladder had been used by the Sodders to access the second floor of their home, where the children's bedrooms were located. The family could not explain why the ladder had been moved, or who had moved it.

In addition, witnesses reported seeing a man watching the Sodder home and taking notes prior to the fire. A woman also reported seeing the missing children in a vehicle near the Sodder home on the night of the fire, leading the family to believe that their children had been kidnapped and were still alive.

The Sodders began to investigate the case themselves, and plastered flyers with pictures of their missing children all over the country. They even hired a private detective to follow leads, but none of these efforts ever led to any substantial clues.

In 1947, two years after the fire, the Sodders received an anonymous letter that they believed to be from their missing daughter, Jennie. The letter stated that she was alive and well, and living in a convent in St. Louis. However, when the Sodders went to St. Louis to investigate, they found no evidence that Jennie was there. They received another letter shortly after, which they believed to be from someone who knew the truth about their missing children, but the person demanded money in exchange for information.

The Sodders never stopped searching for their missing children. They erected a billboard on Route 16 in Fayetteville, West Virginia, with pictures of the missing children and a plea for information. The billboard remained in place for years, serving as a haunting reminder of the mysterious disappearance of the Sodder children.

Over the years, numerous theories have been proposed about what may have happened to the Sodder children. Some believe that they were kidnapped by someone who wanted to hurt the Sodders, possibly a disgruntled employee or a member of the Sicilian Mafia, which the Sodders had spoken out against due to their Italian heritage. Others believe that the children were taken by someone who wanted to raise them as their own.

Another theory is that the Sodder children were victims of human trafficking, and that they were sold to someone for labor or sexual exploitation. However, there is little concrete evidence to support any of these theories, and the fate of the Sodder children remains a mystery to this day.

In 1968, a man named Fayetteville Fire Chief Morris Blackburn stated that he had found bone fragments in the Sodder home's fire pit, and he believed that they belonged to the missing children. However, the Sodders had the fragments analyzed and were told that they were from an animal. Some believe that Blackburn may have been involved in a cover-up, and that the bone fragments were never actually tested.

The case of the Sodder children has fascinated and perplexed people for decades. It has been the subject of books, documentaries, and television programs, and has sparked countless discussions and debates. The family never gave up hope of finding their missing children, and continued to search for answers until their deaths.

In recent years, advancements in DNA testing have allowed for new avenues of investigation into the case. In 2013, the surviving Sodder children requested that the case be reopened, but the police declined to do so, citing lack of evidence. However, the Sodders and their supporters continue to believe that their children are out there somewhere, and they hope that someday the truth will be uncovered.

The case of the Sodder children is a tragic and mysterious one, and it has left many questions unanswered. What happened to Maurice, Martha, Louis, Jennie, and Betty on that fateful night in 1945? Were they killed in the fire, or were they kidnapped and taken far away from their home? The truth may never be known, but the memory of the Sodder children and their family's tireless search for answers will never be forgotten.