For what happened to you. I did think there were rules, and have even found websites promoting what they call the rules back in the day. Okay, so let's say your right. What proof is there that the mob did this though? I know that George was probably an enemy of theirs, but if they did something to them, wouldn't they have finished what they started? I mean, they could have shot George and Jennie and the other kids who got out of the burning building, and placed their bodies inside the home. Did they want George to suffer and live through it? Okay but why did Jennie and the other kids live? Was it a warning? I don't think, if it was a warning, that the other five kids would have been taken. So I'm just trying to figure it out. Just like you and everyone else on this site.
WV - Sodder Family - 5 children, Christmas eve 1945 - #2
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One question bugging me about this whole thing is the way the fire dept handled it. I do still wonder if the fire dept would sometimes lie to the family and tell them they had not found a body. If the body was so badly messed up. WV, as stated , has many rural areas where bodies could be dumped or buried. If the local fd had found the kids bodies in the wreck and moved them and buried them because they still had blackened skin on them, eyes wide open, burnt blood, and other horrors perhaps they tried to spare the parents asking to see the bodies.
Or if the mob had shot them, and the fd was involved and found them... Would they have covered it up? Truly, perhaps you could answer this one.
Or if the mob had shot them, and the fd was involved and found them... Would they have covered it up? Truly, perhaps you could answer this one.
If the kids were being severely abused at home by their parents and older siblings, could they have started the fire, and ran away? No one would know if they took things, clothing, books, photographs, toys with them when they left because the house was burnt to the ground, along with anything left in it. I am sorry, I have no proof of abuse, but I am just wondering if there was any.
Found this and it may hold significance
My mother's family lived in Cunard, West VA (AKA Coal Run) just outside Fayetteville. I remember the first and only time I saw the Sodder's billboard. I was captivated by the story, and haunted by it ever since. I remember my mother telling me about another disappearance of children in the area. If I remember right, there were several children playing in a shallow creek bed late in the day. Some of the children left to go home, and the remaining 3 - 4 children vanished. If this story is true, and presuming that the Sodder children were not killed in the fire (as I believe) then they were not the only children to disappear from the area in in roughly the same timeframe.
Can someone who lives in this are research this case?
My mother's family lived in Cunard, West VA (AKA Coal Run) just outside Fayetteville. I remember the first and only time I saw the Sodder's billboard. I was captivated by the story, and haunted by it ever since. I remember my mother telling me about another disappearance of children in the area. If I remember right, there were several children playing in a shallow creek bed late in the day. Some of the children left to go home, and the remaining 3 - 4 children vanished. If this story is true, and presuming that the Sodder children were not killed in the fire (as I believe) then they were not the only children to disappear from the area in in roughly the same timeframe.
Can someone who lives in this are research this case?
Granddaughter
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Hi -
I just checked the board after a long absence and realized that there's been so much activity recently. I've printed everything to take it to my mom to read. I'm sure she'll have a response to some of the questions.
It seems that things on this board have been a bit heated recently, with some unkind words said between people posting here. That would have made my grandparents (George and Jennie) very sad. They would never have wanted anything negative to happen to anyone else based on their loss. That's the kind of people they were.
And one other thing... Child abuse was not a remote possibility. The children were adored. I'm sure my mom will be able to relieve your concerns about that. But I just had to say something quickly lest anyone think otherwise.
Please be kind to each other. We're peaceful, quiet people who love each other very much. We'd like for this tragedy to be resolved, but not at anyone else's expense.
I just checked the board after a long absence and realized that there's been so much activity recently. I've printed everything to take it to my mom to read. I'm sure she'll have a response to some of the questions.
It seems that things on this board have been a bit heated recently, with some unkind words said between people posting here. That would have made my grandparents (George and Jennie) very sad. They would never have wanted anything negative to happen to anyone else based on their loss. That's the kind of people they were.
And one other thing... Child abuse was not a remote possibility. The children were adored. I'm sure my mom will be able to relieve your concerns about that. But I just had to say something quickly lest anyone think otherwise.
Please be kind to each other. We're peaceful, quiet people who love each other very much. We'd like for this tragedy to be resolved, but not at anyone else's expense.
It's nice to meet you. I am pretty new on this board, and I think I have stirred up the pot a little, and I haven't tried to offend anyone, but I think I have. I am sorry for that.
I am relieved to hear that the children were adored, and were not harmed.
I have a question though, would George Sodder have taken it upon himself to send the children away, in order to protect them? When someone threatened them, and I read somewhere they were being followed by someone in a car, if that was true, would he have tried to protect them and send them away to family in either Italy or elsewhere?
I am relieved to hear that the children were adored, and were not harmed.
I have a question though, would George Sodder have taken it upon himself to send the children away, in order to protect them? When someone threatened them, and I read somewhere they were being followed by someone in a car, if that was true, would he have tried to protect them and send them away to family in either Italy or elsewhere?
Teresa Larson
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I agree with Truly 100% The Mafia would and do hurt anybody and everybody they want to. This isn't about racism at all Catsy It's the facts. The Iceman is a prime example look at how many people he killed young and old LOTS of them. The mob is responsible for lots of deaths. Mr Sodder was not in the mob the mob was after him. Sicilians and Calabrese hated each other back then. The mob also hires others to have "things" done. Maybe Mr Sodder owed them money or didn't pay his dues. I said before and will say it again The officials that worked on this case including the fire chief knew exactly who did this and knew not to do much about it because they were afraid to. When a body is cremated the heat is in the 1600-1800 F range The Sodder's house fire could have never burned that hot so there should have been lots of bones after the fire and there wasn't.
Is that everyone keeps saying the Sodder family shouldn't even talk to me, all because of who my grandfather was. Like I had a say in it. I didn't. Just like you didn't have the ability to chose who YOU were born to, neither did I. I want to help the Sodder family, and as I said before, if I DID have family in the mob, whom I knew and were friends or anything, I would go up to them, (either because I am brave or stupid or a little of each), and demanded they find out the answer and tell me who did it, or even if they had any involvement in it. Again, I am not saying it is IMPOSSIBLE for the mob to have done this. It's possible. I do not think it is probable. If the mob had done it, I think they would have shot the whole family, put them in the house, and THAN set it on fire. And I don't believe that they would have taken the kids. Why would the mob take kids? I think they would get annoyed with the crying and the screaming and the whining. I think the kids lifeless bodies would have been found by now. I think if the mob was trying to send George a message, the kids would have been found dead in the front yard when the family escaped the fire. That's what I think. Could I be wrong? Of course, anyone can be wrong about anything. And is it possible the mob killed the kids and hid their bodies so well as to never be found? Sure. They were scumdogs as my grandma would have called so of course that could be a possibility. But I don't see why. Even if he didn't pay dues, I think the mob's MO is usually to show what they can do. Like scaring them by leaving behind bodies for instance. A note. Something. So there you go. I am still researching, so give me time.
Just Had A Thought --- Someone earlier on these boards talked about the possibility of someone throwing something on the roof, and than telling the kids Santa Claus was on the roof, come out and see. But what if someone threw the flaming thing on the roof, and the younger kids took it upon themselves to see if it was Santa. I could almost see it now. Someone who didn't like Italians, possibly even the mob, (possibly), throwing something on the roof. The kids run outside, followed by the older silblings, Maurice and MarthaLee, trying to stop them, and than someone grabs them up. This may explain some things. If someone was planning on the kids being in the home when it was set on fire, and than things go terribly awry. This would mean the kids saw the person's face if he wasn't wearing a mask. Maybe they recognized the person. If they did it would explain why the kids were taken. Think about it for a moment. They recognize, say a Mr. Smith from down the road. The littler kids don't understand what he had done, but are old enough to tell their parents Mr. So and So was there the older kids know exactly what Mr. So and So has done. I think this would mean they weren't sold or taken to an orphanage. I think Mr. So and So would have killed them. Not right there though, because their bodies would have been found outside of the home. With a gun it wouldn't take long for the kids to comply, I am sure they would be so scared they would have gotten into a car or whatever with him. Anyone know of where we can look up John Doe's and Jane Doe's that were found in this area, even years and years after the fact?
http://www.sodderchildren.com/downloads/Inside_Detective_Feb_1968.pdf
Read someone was watching the sodder children in a a parked car days before they disappeared
Read someone was watching the sodder children in a a parked car days before they disappeared
shipmatekate
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Just wanted to jump in , I know creamtion takes a temperature of 1400 to 1800 degrees farenheit. I truly think that the fire could have burned that hot, especially in light of the fact that it was still hot 9 hours later.
I honestly dont think there is much of a mystery at all, just a tragedy.
I honestly dont think there is much of a mystery at all, just a tragedy.
Teresa Larson
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No the house would not have burned at that hot of a temperature. I have talked to firemen about this and if I remember right some where a forensic expert posted that there was no way it could have burned that hot. If there would have been an accelerant used it possibly could have but I don't think it was possible since Mr and Mrs Sodder made it out of the house Who ever set the fire would have had to come into the house with the accelerant and spread it all over I don't think that was possible either without one of the Sodder's hearing them. It would have been easy for the house to still be burning hours later depending on how big the house was and what kind of wood was used to build it. Just because it burned a long time doesn't mean it was a "hot fire" Usually if an accelerant is used it burns quick and hot. That wasn't the case with the Sodder's house.
First I read
She was awakened again by a noise on the roof that sounded "like a rubber ball." About a half-hour later, smoke began pouring into the bedroom. She yelled for her husband and children. Once outside, Mr. Sodder noticed that Betty, Jennie, Louis, Martha Lee, and Maurice were nowhere to be found. He went to grab the ladder, which was kept near the house, to reach the windows of the room where the children slept. The ladder was missing. Less than forty-five minutes after the fire started, the house was consumed.
Than I read this
Forty-five minutes after Mrs. Sodder had been awakened by the smoke, their home was burned to the ground. Firemen arrived early in the morning and doused the ashes.
THE DOE NETWORK'S ACCT:::
The Sodder house burned to the ground less than forty-five minutes after the fire started. The fire department initially blamed the blaze on faulty wiring. Some reports stated that officials could not find any trace of the missing children's remains in the ashes, but other reports maintain that some bone fragments and possible human organs were located.
Than I read another account which states the home burned all night and into the early morning hours.
Which is true???
She was awakened again by a noise on the roof that sounded "like a rubber ball." About a half-hour later, smoke began pouring into the bedroom. She yelled for her husband and children. Once outside, Mr. Sodder noticed that Betty, Jennie, Louis, Martha Lee, and Maurice were nowhere to be found. He went to grab the ladder, which was kept near the house, to reach the windows of the room where the children slept. The ladder was missing. Less than forty-five minutes after the fire started, the house was consumed.
Than I read this
Forty-five minutes after Mrs. Sodder had been awakened by the smoke, their home was burned to the ground. Firemen arrived early in the morning and doused the ashes.
THE DOE NETWORK'S ACCT:::
The Sodder house burned to the ground less than forty-five minutes after the fire started. The fire department initially blamed the blaze on faulty wiring. Some reports stated that officials could not find any trace of the missing children's remains in the ashes, but other reports maintain that some bone fragments and possible human organs were located.
Than I read another account which states the home burned all night and into the early morning hours.
Which is true???
Something just came to me. Um. A reason to make everything make sense. So many of you are convinced the mob stole the kids. Okay, I am now seeing some evidence that this may have been the case. I need to know, is there anything George was doing before the kids went missing that he stopped as soon as they were taken?
I know this sounds odd. But let me try to explain. If George was doing something the mob didn't want him to do, they may have taken the kids, placed them in new homes, or at least somehow let the family think/know that they were still alive and said Stop this, or we'll kill the kids.
Than George's hands are tied. Kind of like the kids were hostages. You do this or we kill your kids. You stop doing this or we kill the kids. Like dues to the mafia. If they were demanding dues from George and he was like No, No, No. And than suddenly the kids are stolen and George starts paying the dues. Does that make sense? Anything to keep his kids alive.
It's already stated George and Jennie were VERY loving parents who would have done anything for their kids. So I would see them doing anything to ensure those kids stayed safe and alive, even if it meant never seeing them again. I am now entertaining the notion the kids were taken by the mob. Any facts to support this theory? Please any help would be greatly appreciated!
I know this sounds odd. But let me try to explain. If George was doing something the mob didn't want him to do, they may have taken the kids, placed them in new homes, or at least somehow let the family think/know that they were still alive and said Stop this, or we'll kill the kids.
Than George's hands are tied. Kind of like the kids were hostages. You do this or we kill your kids. You stop doing this or we kill the kids. Like dues to the mafia. If they were demanding dues from George and he was like No, No, No. And than suddenly the kids are stolen and George starts paying the dues. Does that make sense? Anything to keep his kids alive.
It's already stated George and Jennie were VERY loving parents who would have done anything for their kids. So I would see them doing anything to ensure those kids stayed safe and alive, even if it meant never seeing them again. I am now entertaining the notion the kids were taken by the mob. Any facts to support this theory? Please any help would be greatly appreciated!
shipmatekate
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Hmmmm, thanks for the info but I am still on the fence. People tend to "elaborate" on memories, such as seeing the man in the car "watching" the kids/family. There could be a completely innocent explanation and gossip turned it into something bigger than it really is.
I have always thought that the sound Mrs Sodder heard (something hitting the roof) was actually the tin roof "popping" under heat stress from the fire.
My personal take is that many, many things have been exaggerated in hindsight.
Just my take on it!
I would like more info on the possible temp the fire reached.
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