The Sodder Family Mystery: Five Children Vanish Without a Trace During a House Fire, Police Refuse to Investigate

On Christmas Eve, 1945, the Sodder family experienced an unimaginable tragedy. With no support from authorities, the grieving parents took matters into their own hands.

That evening, Jenny and George Sodder, along with their nine children — 17-year-old Marion, 16-year-old George Jr., 14-year-old Maurice, 12-year-old Martha, 9-year-old Louis, 8-year-old young Jenny, 5-year-old Betty, and 2-year-old Sylvia — were preparing to celebrate the most magical holiday of the year: Christmas. Their tenth child was serving in the military and could not join the family that year.

Unlike many families in West Virginia, the Sodders could afford a lavish celebration. George was a prosperous businessman who spared no expense to delight his wife and children. Their home was adorned with miles of colorful lights, a turkey roasted in the oven, and presents wrapped in bright paper waiting under the Christmas tree.

As midnight approached, the family gathered around the table to listen to their favorite radio program, enjoy dinner, and savor dessert before heading to bed. The younger children hesitated to sleep and asked Jenny to play with their new toys a little longer. On this special night, she allowed them to break the routine but first insisted they complete chores — feeding the livestock and securing the chickens.

Eventually, exhaustion took over, and the children went to their beds. The parents wished everyone good night and retired to their room. Jenny barely had time to rest her head on the pillow before falling asleep. However, the following hours were restless and filled with unsettling events.

First, Jenny was awakened by the telephone ringing in her husband's office on the first floor. She went down to answer but heard only silence on the other end. Assuming it was a wrong number, she locked the front door — which had been left open — before returning to bed.

Later, a noise from the attic, where two of her sons slept, disturbed her again. Since the boys often woke up for pillow fights, Jenny ignored it and went back to sleep.

Finally, she was roused by the smell of smoke. Rushing to wake her husband, she ran into the hallway and saw flames engulfing the attic. Together, they tried to get the children outside. Sadly, not all could be saved. When Jenny attempted to re-enter, the fire had spread to the front door.

George rushed to the shed to retrieve a ladder to access the house through a window, but it was missing. He then tried to use a truck to reach the window but the engine failed to start, despite having driven earlier without issue.

It was early winter morning; outside stood the parents and only four children remained: 2-year-old Sylvia, 17-year-old Marion, and the two oldest sons. The rest were inside the house, which had turned to ashes by the time firefighters arrived.

The fire department had not responded promptly. Jenny initially tried to call for help, but the phone lines were cut. When she sent her daughter to a neighbor, the fire station did not answer — many staff had left for the holidays, leaving only trainees who ignored the calls.

Firefighters finally arrived around 8 a.m. and coldly reported that little Betty, Jenny, Maurice, Martha, and Louis had perished. Police ruled the fire accidental, caused by faulty wiring. No remains of the children were found, allegedly because the intense flames destroyed everything.

For weeks, the Sodders were consumed by grief, unable to eat, sleep, or speak. As they gradually recovered, they reconsidered the events of that night and noticed many oddities: the unlocked door, the silent phone call, the missing ladder — unlikely coincidences.

Weeks before the fire, strange visitors had come to the Sodders. One man offered to insure their home; when they declined, he cursed them, warning, "Your house will burn in smoke. Your children will be destroyed. You will pay for your dirty remarks against Mussolini."

Another mysterious man stopped across the street, watching the children play before leaving abruptly.

Later, a man claiming to be an electrician offered to inspect the wiring. The Sodders refused again, having recently completed home repairs.

Jenny suspected the police's faulty wiring theory was incorrect. She noticed that while she was waking the children, some lights remained on despite the fire.

The Sodders began to believe the fire was deliberately set. George, a vocal businessman, might have angered someone powerful. Neighbors reported seeing a bottle of incendiary liquid thrown into the house and someone placing five children into a car, but there was no proof.

Convinced their children were alive and kidnapped for revenge or ransom, the Sodders collected ashes from the fire site for independent testing. The analysis revealed no human remains, indicating the children had not burned.

They petitioned the police to investigate a kidnapping. To prove their point, they recreated the fire with chicken bones for the same duration; the bones blackened but remained intact. The police mocked their claims, so Jenny and George took the investigation into their own hands.

They hung a large billboard on their new home with photos of Betty, Jenny, Maurice, Martha, and Louis, offering a $10,000 reward for their safe return. Yet, no leads emerged.

Hiring private detectives, the Sodders discovered the man who tried to sell insurance was a police expert who had blamed the fire on wiring. Additionally, a firefighter found fresh meat in the ruins, which turned out to be cow liver.

Jenny and George never gave up. They regularly refreshed the billboard, scoured library archives for similar cases, and reviewed police reports on missing persons — all to no avail.

They often received calls from individuals claiming to be their children and personally traveled to Texas, St. Louis, Dallas, and Buffalo to meet them. All were impostors seeking money.

For 23 years, the couple pursued every lead until one morning, a letter arrived in their mailbox. Inside was a photo of their grown son with the inscription: "Louis Sodder. I love brother Frankie. Ill Boyz. A90132 or 35." The resemblance was unmistakable — thick eyebrows, a crooked smile, and a mischievous look. Jenny felt it was truly her son, though she only remembered him as a child. But the sender was unknown; the envelope bore only a Kentucky stamp.

Unable to trace the sender or verify the photo, the Sodders added Louis's image to their billboard and kept waiting.

George passed away the same year the photo arrived, his heart unable to endure the strain. Jenny lived another 21 years, wearing black in mourning and relentlessly continuing the search.

Today, only the youngest Sodder child, Sylvia, remains alive. She has shared the mysterious story of her siblings' disappearance with her children and grandchildren, urging them to never stop searching.

The family maintains close contact with detectives, monitors newspapers for familiar faces, and collaborates with journalists. Yet, the mystery remains unsolved.

Photos: video stills, archives, Shutterstock/FOTODOM

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