Cold Case Investigations - Sodder Children Disappearance Case

Dec 1 Sodder Children Disappearance Facts of the Sodder Children Disappearance Case Date and Location: Early morning of December 25, 1945 (Christmas Day), in Fayetteville, West Virginia, United States. The two-story Sodder family home (with basement) on a rural property was destroyed by fire. Family Background: George Sodder (Italian immigrant, born Giorgio Soddu) and his wife Jennie had ten children. Nine were home that night; the oldest son, Joe (around 21–22), was serving in the U.S. military overseas during WWII. George was known for outspoken anti-Mussolini/anti-fascist views as an Italian American, which had led to prior tensions, including a threat from a local insurance salesman about a year earlier that his house would be burned and children "destroyed." The Incident (Timeline): The family had celebrated Christmas Eve. The younger children were in upstairs bedrooms. Around 12:30–1:00 a.m., Jennie Sodder woke to a noise (described as a crash on the roof) but went back to sleep. Smoke and fire were later noticed in George’s office area near the fuse box and telephone. George, Jennie, and four surviving children (John ~23, Marion ~17, George Jr. ~16, and Sylvia ~2) escaped. They shouted for the other five but received no response. Attempts to call the fire department failed initially (phone line issues reported; operator delays). A neighbor eventually alerted Fire Chief F.J. Morris. The volunteer fire department (only ~2.5 miles away) arrived around 8 a.m., by which time the house was reduced to ashes. Missing Children: The five unaccounted-for children (all presumed upstairs asleep): Maurice Sodder, 14 Martha Lee Sodder, 12 Louis Sodder, 9 (or 10 in some accounts) Jennie Irene Sodder, 8 Betty Dolly Sodder, 5 Official Investigation and Findings: A cursory search of the ashes by Fire Chief Morris found no human remains (or very minimal fragments per varying accounts). He suggested the fire was hot enough to completely cremate the bodies. A local…