WV WV - Sodder Family - 5 children, Christmas eve 1945 - #4

[Deleted member 192280]

What about the photo they received, with the words:
Louis Sodder
I love brother Frankie
Ilil boys
A90132 or 35
I doubt someone would prank them?

 

[Satch]

What about the photo they received, with the words:
Louis Sodder
I love brother Frankie
Ilil boys
A90132 or 35
I doubt someone would prank them?

Researchers say that this photo, the ears and mouth do not match. The family was well-known, and George was not exactly "Well Liked." He put incredible amounts of time, as did Jennnie in searching for the missing children.

The parents never came to the realization of the children possibly dying in the fire. Sometimes, parents of the missing, will rather cling to a hope, no matter how small, that their kids could be alive, even if there is horrific evidence that points to the contrary. Survivors a lot of times hate negative closure. And based on how poorly the investigation was handled, and the strange action of the townspeople against them, the strange events in this case, made the Sodder's believe that the children could still be alive.

If the local LE had been more competent, had not hated George for his strong political beliefs, and the likely discrimination he faced as an immigrant, as well as George bulldozing the house less than a week after the fire, this case could have been solved.

There were reports that remains of the children had been found, but that authorities chose not to tell the family because of it being Christmas. The family losing their children and home, too much horror to take at once.

Satch

 

[MansfieldS1]

Working on essay for my English 102 class on this topic. Had questions and looking for some direction. First, had the eldest daughter Marion ever been interviewed by police or investigators considering she may have been the last to see the children alive? Now any place I could look to find some info?

 

[BandyJ]

Of the immediate family, only Silvia, the youngest daughter, 2 at the time of the fire, is still alive. I don't know about Silvia's extended family. She does not give interviews, but did say that the fire is her earliest memory. She will not allow herself to be photographed, or recorded in public.

John, when he was alive, was the only family member who would not talk about the fire. This lead to my believe that he saw the charred remains of his brothers and sisters, that he screamed when he saw them. But never told his parents because of the horror.

The dream of those following this case is to see pictures of the Sodder house before the fire. This is for purposes of studying a potential floor-plan. None have ever been seen online. My suggestion might be to go to a Historical Society or library in Fayetteville, West Virginia and see if they have any records about the house and could release them or copy them from microfilm.

Maybe Fayetteville City Hall would have something. If we could see the house structure, it would be a great visual to study.

Satch

John did not see the children at all. He did speak about it to family but was scared that those who did this would come and do something to his family.

 

[BandyJ]

Working on essay for my English 102 class on this topic. Had questions and looking for some direction. First, had the eldest daughter Marion ever been interviewed by police or investigators considering she may have been the last to see the children alive? Now any place I could look to find some info?

I am wondering if these records exist with the town of she was interviewed.

 

[BandyJ]

EBM
I believe that's it exactly: they were either already dead or unconscious and near death.

Your statement is incorrect. John NEVER saw or shook the kids. He saw Ted and yelled for him to get up and they ran out of the house. It was after the family was outside when it was realized the other children did not run out. This is why John, Ted, and George Sr. Ran back into the burning house and was not able to get up the stairs.

 

[Satch]

Your statement is incorrect. John NEVER saw or shook the kids. He saw Ted and yelled for him to get up and they ran out of the house. It was after the family was outside when it was realized the other children did not run out. This is why John, Ted, and George Sr. Ran back into the burning house and was not able to get up the stairs.

Who was Ted? My research names the kids as George Jr. John, Betty, Martha, Maurice, Marian, Silvia, Jennie, Louis, and Joe who was in the Army at the time of the fire.

Satch

 

[BandyJ]

Who was Ted? My research names the kids as George Jr. John, Betty, Martha, Maurice, Marian, Silvia, Jennie, Louis, and Joe who was in the Army at the time of the fire.

Satch

George Jr. is Ted. He never went by George Jr

 

[Ozoner]

Your statement is incorrect. John NEVER saw or shook the kids. He saw Ted and yelled for him to get up and they ran out of the house. It was after the family was outside when it was realized the other children did not run out. This is why John, Ted, and George Sr. Ran back into the burning house and was not able to get up the stairs.

What is the source of your information? My info comes from online sources that seem reliable. If I'm to doubt or discount those sources, I need more a source that at least as credible.

 

[Mickey Mouse]

John did not see the children at all. He did speak about it to family but was scared that those who did this would come and do something to his family.

Do you have a personal connection to the Sodder family? Some of the information you have is different from what we've previously found. What is your source? We've had a Sodder granddaughter posting in the past, but that was a long time ago.

 

[BandyJ]

What is the source of your information? My info comes from online sources that seem reliable. If I'm to doubt or discount those sources, I need more a source that at least as credible.

I am the grandson of John. The oldest.

 

[BandyJ]

Do you have a personal connection to the Sodder family? Some of the information you have is different from what we've previously found. What is your source? We've had a Sodder granddaughter posting in the past, but that was a long time ago.

My grandfather was there. His name was John. The oldest.

 

[Cloudycoffee]

Are Copies of the police investigation docs available. Surely they must still be in archive somewhere.

My questions re the daughter that fell asleep on the sofa - what time did she think she fell asleep. At that point had the boys done their chores, were the curtains open or closed, was the house locked. The accounts say that the mother locked the house and turned off the lights when she woke up but I wonder if the boys had any cause to be outside that night or whether they did go to bed.

I keep reading conflicting accounts about the children at the outbreak of the fire. Did the son go to their room and shake them - people here mention a statement being made but I haven't seen any copies of it. Did the family shout them and not see them. The older boys and father's focus would be on putting out the fire. I would imagine fire would be incredibly noisy so it might be difficult to establish whether they responded or not.

The vehicles that wouldn't start - it was winter and there is a mention that water is frozen over. How old were the trucks. Is it feasible that in freezing temperatures they both might not start. Did they work the next day or did the family find they were tampered with in some way and if so how?

What was the building made of and would be useful to understand the floor plan. Might anyone in the family have a record of that. Is it scientifically possible for the house blaze to reach the temperature which would cremate bones. Is it feasible it would have been so much hotter in the roof than in the kitchen where appliances were found melted but recognisable.

Was the person that made the wrong number phone call tracked down - I can see names on this forum but not sure where they came from.

Even if the basement was covered in dirt and flattened surely it's possible for a modern search to find out if there would be any human remains. Has this been attempted?

Is there a thread someone with a timeline of events? This would be useful.

Why did no one from the police or.fire department come out until so many hours later. How was this explained?

 

[Satch]

Are Copies of the police investigation docs available. Surely they must still be in archive somewhere.

My questions re the daughter that fell asleep on the sofa - what time did she think she fell asleep. At that point had the boys done their chores, were the curtains open or closed, was the house locked. The accounts say that the mother locked the house and turned off the lights when she woke up but I wonder if the boys had any cause to be outside that night or whether they did go to bed.

I keep reading conflicting accounts about the children at the outbreak of the fire. Did the son go to their room and shake them - people here mention a statement being made but I haven't seen any copies of it. Did the family shout them and not see them. The older boys and father's focus would be on putting out the fire. I would imagine fire would be incredibly noisy so it might be difficult to establish whether they responded or not.

The vehicles that wouldn't start - it was winter and there is a mention that water is frozen over. How old were the trucks. Is it feasible that in freezing temperatures they both might not start. Did they work the next day or did the family find they were tampered with in some way and if so how?

What was the building made of and would be useful to understand the floor plan. Might anyone in the family have a record of that. Is it scientifically possible for the house blaze to reach the temperature which would cremate bones. Is it feasible it would have been so much hotter in the roof than in the kitchen where appliances were found melted but recognisable.

Was the person that made the wrong number phone call tracked down - I can see names on this forum but not sure where they came from.

Even if the basement was covered in dirt and flattened surely it's possible for a modern search to find out if there would be any human remains. Has this been attempted?

Is there a thread someone with a timeline of events? This would be useful.

Why did no one from the police or.fire department come out until so many hours later. How was this explained?

Awesome post!

With regards to lack of help. Thee are no reports of neighbors or friends offering to help. People just stood there and watched, if any were there outside of family. LE's lack of response was explained that in those days, small towns used a tier system to call for help. LE was rationed because of World War II ending and many had not returned home. The process of support was a tier system. You would call someone for help, who in tern would call someone else for help, who would contact someone else. Terrible concerning the time wasted.

Satch

 

[Cloudycoffee]

Another question I have. I read about the story of the person that commented on the fuse boxes. So was there more than one. Was it misreported or might that mean there were 2 circuits in the house. So feasibly could have there have been an electrical fault that affected only part of the house. Anyone with electrical knowledge that can answer that one?

Are there any members here for the area. I can see the local archives have copies of newspapers from that time. Is it possible to access those somehow?

 

[Cloudycoffee]

Sorry I duplicate posted and can't delete it.

 

[Satch]

Another question I have. I read about the story of the person that commented on the fuse boxes. So was there more than one. Was it misreported or might that mean there were 2 circuits in the house. So feasibly could have there have been an electrical fault that affected only part of the house. Anyone with electrical knowledge that can answer that one?

Are there any members here for the area. I can see the local archives have copies of newspapers from that time. Is it possible to access those somehow?

I would suggest going to Fayettville , West Virginia local library or City Hall. City Hall MIGHT have what we have wanted for this case for years! A floor-plan of the original Soddar house or even pictures of the original Soddar House. That way, we could get some kind of visual picture of the families' navigation during the fire and the degree of difficulty concerning readiness and mobilization concerning how the survivors manged to escape, Also, how easy or difficult it would be for an abductor to move in the home, if those believe that theory. Personally, I don't.

Satch

 

[Cloudycoffee]

I found a 1948 article that says it was a frame building but part of the internal partitions were made from fire proof Sheetrock. Part of the roof was galvanised steel and another part tin. 7 rooms. 5 downstairs / 2 in the attic. The attic had 6 windows . There were 2 chimneys in the attic and it also mentions that the Sodders may have had oil and gas n the basement although they denied this.

A high wind was blowing that night and light snow was on the ground.

 

[MansfieldS1]

Episode 22: Missing Sodder Family Children - Southern Mysteries Podcast
Can anyone verify the accuracy of the information presented in this podcast?

 

[ColyH]

One thing that the podcast got wrong was that a waitress claimed seeing the kids with two adult men and two adult women in Charleston, South Carolina. It was Charleston, West Virginia where the waitress claimed to see them.

Was it a guy named Russell Long who tried sell them life insurance or was it Ginatella(sp?)? I have a hard time believing a guy named Russell Long is going to be angry to the point of making death threats to someone saying bad things about Mussolini. Was Ginatella's cousin on the jury? I thought it was Ginatella who led the inquest.

The mafia had the Sodder children harmed because George said bad things about Mussolini? I will never believe that and it doesn't even make sense. The mafia HATED Mussolini! It would be like a Red Sox fan getting in a fight with another Red Sox fan because he said bad things about the Yankees.