The Sodder family fire mystery

The Sodder family fire mystery:

On christmas eve of 1945, the Sodder family home in Fayetteville, West Virginia caught fire suddenly.

Both the parents and their four children made it out, but five of their nine children remained inside amidst the fire.

George Sodder made everything he could to rescue his children, but was unsuccessful as there were many obstacles while doing so. For instance the ladder was missing from its original place and was nowhere to be found and his truck would not start. One of the Sodder kid who was outside the house, made a dash to their neighbour’s house and called the fire brigade. But unfortunately, it was too late till the brigade made it to the sodder residence. They arrived the following day since they had very low men due to world war II. By then the sodder house was a brooding wreck.

Authorities declared that the fire was caused due to an electrical fire. It was hard to believe, as George Sodder had re-done the electrical wiring and the local electrical company had declared that it was safe. When the ruins of the house were examined, the bodies of the five children was not found. Investigators stated that the fire was very hot and might have burnt the bodies of the children.

George was a critic of Italian dictator Mussolini and hence was disliked by some people. It was found that the ladder was misplaced and the Sodder family’s phone line was cut off. Before the awakening of the fire, a few days back, the Sodders were visited by a life insurance salesman and a man seeking work. Both of them warned the family to be meticulous about his house catching fire.

There were reports made by some people that they had seen the dead five children at a restaurant a few days later. Years later, Mrs.Jennie Sodder received a envelope with no return address. When she opened it , she saw a picture of a grown up man who resembled her son who was supposedly dead and had his name behind the envelope.

It is still a mystery, what happened to the five children.

Source:Sodder children disappearance - Wikipedia