August 21, 2025 • 10 mins
Uncover the haunting true story of the Sodder children disappearance, one of America's most perplexing unsolved mysteries. Join Raven Vale on Whispers from the Dark as we revisit Christmas Eve, 1945, when a devastating house fire in Fayetteville, West Virginia, claimed five young lives—or did it?Explore the bizarre circumstances surrounding the inferno: a mysteriously missing ladder, sabotaged trucks, a strange phone call, and zero human remains found in the ashes. We delve into the Sodder family's lifelong search for their children—Maurice, Martha, Louis, Jennie, and Betty—and their unwavering belief that the children were kidnapped before the blaze. Discover the chilling evidence that fueled their conviction, from forensic inconsistencies to anonymous photos sent decades later. Was it a tragic accident, a vengeful act linked to organized crime, or something far more sinister?Perfect for fans of true crime podcasts, cold cases, missing persons mysteries, historical investigations, and perplexing family disappearances. Tune in as we dissect the enduring enigma of the Sodder children, a case that continues to haunt with its agonizing lack of closure.#SodderChildren #Disappearance #UnsolvedMystery #TrueCrime #ColdCase #WestVirginia #1945 #MissingPersons #HouseFire #FamilyMystery #KidnappingTheory #NoRemains #OrganizedCrime #FayettevilleWV #HistoricalCrime #Podcast #TrueCrimePodcast #Unexplained #HauntingMystery #ChristmasEveMystery #AmericanMystery Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
When the lights go out and they speak. The vanished,
the cursed, the crueler. Their echoes live here. I'm Raven Vale,
and you've just crossed the threshold. Welcome to Whispers from
the Dark, The Solder Children, America's Christmas Eve Enigma. Whispers
(00:34):
from the Dark. Welcome dear listeners to Whispers from the Dark. Tonight,
we journey to the rugged hills of Fayetteville, West Virginia,
to a Christmas Eve in nineteen forty five that began
with holiday chair and ended in a blaze of unimaginable horror,
leaving behind a family forever shattered and a mystery that
(00:57):
has haunted America for nearly a decades. This is the
tragic and deeply unsettling story of the Sodder children Disappearance,
a case where five innocent lives vanished without a trace,
leaving behind no bodies, only questions that scream into the
silence of an enduring enigma. The Soder family was the
(01:21):
epitome of the American dream in miniature, living a life
of quiet prosperity in their two story home on the
outskirts of Fayetteville. George Soder, an Italian immigrant who had
built a successful trucking business and his wife, Jenny, a
strong and loving matriarch, were raising ten vibrant children. Their
(01:43):
home was often bustling, filled with the laughter and energy
of a large, close knit family. On Christmas Eve nineteen
forty five, the atmosphere was festive, a common celebration, turning
into a scene of unimaginable horror. The younger children, excited
by new toys, begged to stay up past their usual bedtime.
(02:07):
George Indulgent allowed them to while he and Jenny retired
for the night. Just past midnight. In the early hours
of December twenty fifth, the peace was shattered. Jenny Sodder
awoke to the insistent ringing of a phone. It was
a wrong number, a bizarre, disorienting call from a woman
(02:27):
laughing hysterically before hanging up. As Jenny went back to bed,
she noticed a strange burning smell. Then, with a sudden jolt,
she heard a loud thump on the roof, followed by
the terrifying sight of smoke seeping under the door to
George's office. The house was on fire. What unfolded next
(02:50):
was a frantic, desperate struggle for survival, a scene of
chaos and heroism that would forever be etched in the
family's memory. George Sawodder, waking to his wife's cries, sprang
into action. He roused Marion seventeen, George Junior sixteen, John
(03:10):
twenty three, Sylvanius thirteen, and James five, the five children
he could immediately reach and guide to safety, But as
the flames rapidly engulfed the structure, five more children were
trapped upstairs, Maurice fourteen, Martha twelve, Lewis nine, Jenny eight,
(03:31):
and Betty five. George, desperate to save them, tried to
climb the ladder usually propped against the side of the house,
but it was inexplicably missing from its usual spot. He
tried to start his two coal trucks, hoping to drive
them to the burning house and use their ladders to
reach the upper windows, but neither truck would start. Despite
(03:54):
working perfectly the day before, the barrels of water he
kept for fire fighting were frozen solid. In less than
an hour, the entire house was reduced to smoldering embers,
and firefighters, delayed by distance and a lack of quick communication,
could do nothing but watch. The Sodders were left with
(04:16):
a harrowing reality, five of their children were gone, presumed
perished in the inferno. The immediate aftermath brought a horrifying
twist to an already agonizing tragedy. Fire Marshal F. J. Morris,
after a remarkably swift investigation lasting mere hours, ruled the
(04:36):
fire of undetermined origin and concluded that the five Solder
children had died in the blaze. This was the official stance. However,
Jenny and George Sodder were immediately plagued by doubts. The
most glaring inconsistency was the complete lack of human remains
found in the ashes. Despite the intensity of the fire,
(05:00):
common scientific understanding dictates that bones, particularly skulls and large
skeletal fragments, would survive and be identifiable. There were no
bone fragments, no teeth, no evidence of burnt flesh, nothing
that would definitively confirm the children had been consumed by
(05:20):
the flames. A pathologist later confirmed that bone fragments large
enough to constitute five children would have been present. The
Sodders began their own relentless, life long investigation. They questioned everything.
The missing ladder inexplicably moved from its place, The two
trucks that failed to start despite recent maintenance, the strange
(05:44):
phone call to Jenny just minutes before the fire. A
witness later reported seeing a man watching the house from
the roadside shortly before the fire started. There was also
a chilling incident weeks prior. An insurance savealesman attempting to
sell George a policy allegedly threatened that his house would
(06:05):
go up in smoke and his children would be destroyed.
Was this a mere coincidence or a sinister warning? George Soder,
an outspoken man who held strong anti Mussolini views, wondered
if his background as an Italian immigrant might have made
him a target, perhaps from organized crime groups or vengeful fascists.
(06:30):
Could this have been a retribution. The Soder's unwavering belief
was that their children had been kidnapped before the fire,
and the blaze was merely a diversion. They erected billboards
along Route sixteen offering rewards, displaying haunting pictures of their
lost children, Pleading for any information. They hired private investigators,
(06:52):
spent their life savings and traveled countless miles, chasing every lead,
no matter how remote, they said, and thousands of letters
to politicians, law enforcement and even the FBI, including j
Edgar Hoover, who initially showed interest but eventually dropped the
case due to lack of federal jurisdiction. In nineteen forty nine,
(07:15):
spurred by the family's persistence and fueled by growing public doubt,
the site of the former house was excavated. The workers,
under intense scrutiny, found only a few small bone fragments,
later determined by the Smithsonian Institution to be either non
human or from an older period. They also found a
(07:38):
blasting cap and pieces of the electrical wiring, but nothing conclusive.
The absence of concrete evidence for five children only solidified
the family's conviction that their children had not died in
the fire. Years passed, but the hope never extinguished. Then,
in nineteen sixty seven, a photograph was mailed to Jenny Sodd.
(08:03):
It was postmarked from Kentucky with no return address. The
photograph depicted a young man aged in his mid twenties,
with features strikingly similar to what Louis Sodder might have
looked like as an adult. On the back, a cryptic
message read, Lewis Soder I love brother, Frankie ill Ill
(08:24):
Boys A nine zero one three, two or thirty five inches.
This single image rekindled the Sodder's fervent hope, pushing them
to send a private detective to Kentucky, though the lead
ultimately went cold. Was it a cruel hoax or a
desperate cry for help from a child who had grown
(08:44):
into a stranger. The Solder children disappearance remains one of
America's most heartbreaking unsolved missing person's cases. The theories range
from the official yet highly contested perished in the fire
snai to the more sinister kidnapping scenarios involving revenge, organized crime,
(09:07):
or even child trafficking. The lack of remains, the strange
occurrences before and during the fire, and the family's lifelong,
unwavering conviction fuel the enduring mystery. The case highlights the
limitations of early forensic investigations and the emotional toll of profound,
(09:27):
agonizing uncertainty. George Soder died in nineteen sixty nine and
Jenny Sodder in nineteen eighty nine, both carrying the burden
of their unanswered questions, never giving up on the belief
that their children were still alive. The Soder children mystery
endures a phantom whisper in the West Virginia Mountains, a
(09:50):
chilling reminder that sometimes the most profound agony is not
in knowing a terrible end, but in the eternal, burning
hope of a life yet to be found. Thank you
for joining me tonight on whispers from the dark. Until
next time, may the embers of your own unanswered questions
(10:13):
never glow quite so fiercely.
When the lights go out and they speak. The vanished,
the cursed, the crueler. Their echoes live here. I'm Raven Vale,
and you've just crossed the threshold. Welcome to Whispers from
the Dark, The Solder Children, America's Christmas Eve Enigma. Whispers
(00:34):
from the Dark. Welcome dear listeners to Whispers from the Dark. Tonight,
we journey to the rugged hills of Fayetteville, West Virginia,
to a Christmas Eve in nineteen forty five that began
with holiday chair and ended in a blaze of unimaginable horror,
leaving behind a family forever shattered and a mystery that
(00:57):
has haunted America for nearly a decades. This is the
tragic and deeply unsettling story of the Sodder children Disappearance,
a case where five innocent lives vanished without a trace,
leaving behind no bodies, only questions that scream into the
silence of an enduring enigma. The Soder family was the
(01:21):
epitome of the American dream in miniature, living a life
of quiet prosperity in their two story home on the
outskirts of Fayetteville. George Soder, an Italian immigrant who had
built a successful trucking business and his wife, Jenny, a
strong and loving matriarch, were raising ten vibrant children. Their
(01:43):
home was often bustling, filled with the laughter and energy
of a large, close knit family. On Christmas Eve nineteen
forty five, the atmosphere was festive, a common celebration, turning
into a scene of unimaginable horror. The younger children, excited
by new toys, begged to stay up past their usual bedtime.
(02:07):
George Indulgent allowed them to while he and Jenny retired
for the night. Just past midnight. In the early hours
of December twenty fifth, the peace was shattered. Jenny Sodder
awoke to the insistent ringing of a phone. It was
a wrong number, a bizarre, disorienting call from a woman
(02:27):
laughing hysterically before hanging up. As Jenny went back to bed,
she noticed a strange burning smell. Then, with a sudden jolt,
she heard a loud thump on the roof, followed by
the terrifying sight of smoke seeping under the door to
George's office. The house was on fire. What unfolded next
(02:50):
was a frantic, desperate struggle for survival, a scene of
chaos and heroism that would forever be etched in the
family's memory. George Sawodder, waking to his wife's cries, sprang
into action. He roused Marion seventeen, George Junior sixteen, John
(03:10):
twenty three, Sylvanius thirteen, and James five, the five children
he could immediately reach and guide to safety, But as
the flames rapidly engulfed the structure, five more children were
trapped upstairs, Maurice fourteen, Martha twelve, Lewis nine, Jenny eight,
(03:31):
and Betty five. George, desperate to save them, tried to
climb the ladder usually propped against the side of the house,
but it was inexplicably missing from its usual spot. He
tried to start his two coal trucks, hoping to drive
them to the burning house and use their ladders to
reach the upper windows, but neither truck would start. Despite
(03:54):
working perfectly the day before, the barrels of water he
kept for fire fighting were frozen solid. In less than
an hour, the entire house was reduced to smoldering embers,
and firefighters, delayed by distance and a lack of quick communication,
could do nothing but watch. The Sodders were left with
(04:16):
a harrowing reality, five of their children were gone, presumed
perished in the inferno. The immediate aftermath brought a horrifying
twist to an already agonizing tragedy. Fire Marshal F. J. Morris,
after a remarkably swift investigation lasting mere hours, ruled the
(04:36):
fire of undetermined origin and concluded that the five Solder
children had died in the blaze. This was the official stance. However,
Jenny and George Sodder were immediately plagued by doubts. The
most glaring inconsistency was the complete lack of human remains
found in the ashes. Despite the intensity of the fire,
(05:00):
common scientific understanding dictates that bones, particularly skulls and large
skeletal fragments, would survive and be identifiable. There were no
bone fragments, no teeth, no evidence of burnt flesh, nothing
that would definitively confirm the children had been consumed by
(05:20):
the flames. A pathologist later confirmed that bone fragments large
enough to constitute five children would have been present. The
Sodders began their own relentless, life long investigation. They questioned everything.
The missing ladder inexplicably moved from its place, The two
trucks that failed to start despite recent maintenance, the strange
(05:44):
phone call to Jenny just minutes before the fire. A
witness later reported seeing a man watching the house from
the roadside shortly before the fire started. There was also
a chilling incident weeks prior. An insurance savealesman attempting to
sell George a policy allegedly threatened that his house would
(06:05):
go up in smoke and his children would be destroyed.
Was this a mere coincidence or a sinister warning? George Soder,
an outspoken man who held strong anti Mussolini views, wondered
if his background as an Italian immigrant might have made
him a target, perhaps from organized crime groups or vengeful fascists.
(06:30):
Could this have been a retribution. The Soder's unwavering belief
was that their children had been kidnapped before the fire,
and the blaze was merely a diversion. They erected billboards
along Route sixteen offering rewards, displaying haunting pictures of their
lost children, Pleading for any information. They hired private investigators,
(06:52):
spent their life savings and traveled countless miles, chasing every lead,
no matter how remote, they said, and thousands of letters
to politicians, law enforcement and even the FBI, including j
Edgar Hoover, who initially showed interest but eventually dropped the
case due to lack of federal jurisdiction. In nineteen forty nine,
(07:15):
spurred by the family's persistence and fueled by growing public doubt,
the site of the former house was excavated. The workers,
under intense scrutiny, found only a few small bone fragments,
later determined by the Smithsonian Institution to be either non
human or from an older period. They also found a
(07:38):
blasting cap and pieces of the electrical wiring, but nothing conclusive.
The absence of concrete evidence for five children only solidified
the family's conviction that their children had not died in
the fire. Years passed, but the hope never extinguished. Then,
in nineteen sixty seven, a photograph was mailed to Jenny Sodd.
(08:03):
It was postmarked from Kentucky with no return address. The
photograph depicted a young man aged in his mid twenties,
with features strikingly similar to what Louis Sodder might have
looked like as an adult. On the back, a cryptic
message read, Lewis Soder I love brother, Frankie ill Ill
(08:24):
Boys A nine zero one three, two or thirty five inches.
This single image rekindled the Sodder's fervent hope, pushing them
to send a private detective to Kentucky, though the lead
ultimately went cold. Was it a cruel hoax or a
desperate cry for help from a child who had grown
(08:44):
into a stranger. The Solder children disappearance remains one of
America's most heartbreaking unsolved missing person's cases. The theories range
from the official yet highly contested perished in the fire
snai to the more sinister kidnapping scenarios involving revenge, organized crime,
(09:07):
or even child trafficking. The lack of remains, the strange
occurrences before and during the fire, and the family's lifelong,
unwavering conviction fuel the enduring mystery. The case highlights the
limitations of early forensic investigations and the emotional toll of profound,
(09:27):
agonizing uncertainty. George Soder died in nineteen sixty nine and
Jenny Sodder in nineteen eighty nine, both carrying the burden
of their unanswered questions, never giving up on the belief
that their children were still alive. The Soder children mystery
endures a phantom whisper in the West Virginia Mountains, a
(09:50):
chilling reminder that sometimes the most profound agony is not
in knowing a terrible end, but in the eternal, burning
hope of a life yet to be found. Thank you
for joining me tonight on whispers from the dark. Until
next time, may the embers of your own unanswered questions
(10:13):
never glow quite so fiercely.
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