Flames of Mystery: The Suspicious Case of The Sodder Children
Today in History: Like you, when I think of December 24, I think of the Sodder Family Fire in 1945. On Christmas Eve, December 24, 1945, a fire destroyed the Sodder home in Fayetteville, West Virginia. At the time, it was occupied by George Sodder, his wife Jennie, and nine of their ten children. During the fire, George, Jennie, and four of the nine children escaped. The bodies of the other five children have never been found (making it an unsolved mystery). There were no bones found in the fire. The Sodders believed for the rest of their lives that the five missing children survived.
The Sodders believed this because of a number of unusual circumstances before and during the fire. The Fire Dept said that the fire was electrical in origin, but the house was recently rewired and inspected. George Sodder, as a member of the Italian community was very critical of Fascist leader Benito Mussolini which made him enemies among his fellow Italians. One such person, an insurance salesman, threatened the family with a fire a year before. The family came across a bus driver who stated that he had seen what he described as “fireballs” being thrown onto the roof of the house.
People also reported seeing their five kids in certain places after the fire. At a diner fifty miles west of Fayetteville, a waitress would later say that she had served breakfast to the five children on Christmas morning, but she couldn’t recall how many adults were with them. Another woman stated that she had clearly seen the five children go by in a strange car while the fire was blazing. Someone said they saw 4 of the 5 children at a hotel in S. Carolina.
The Sodder family billboard with a $5000 reward stayed up until 1989, becoming a local landmark.
No comments:
Post a Comment