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

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Granddaughter said:
Falcon500, If you read earlier in the Board, there are many posts on my mother's behalf that were made. My mom is now the only surviving of the Sodder children. She personally saw the grief of her parents, which I remember too. I don't recall my grandfather, because I was too young when he passed away. However, I know that my dad drove him out of State not long before he died, with my grandfather lying in the back seat of the car, to investigate a possible lead. These are people who cared deeply and never lost hope that their children survived. There is also an earlier post that the fire site was exhumed and investigated by a team led by a Smithsonian investigator. The investigation failed to yield any evidence of the children's bodies. That is why my mother does not believe another investigation of the site would be beneficial. My family has had a difficult few years due to illnesses, and I have watched this website when I can. Most of the questions that have appeared are answered in earlier posts, and unfortunately I don't have enough time to keep posting the same information. However, we are interested, we do care, and my mother does not believe the children perished in the fire. Thank you, Canadian4, for speaking out on our behalf.
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Then what does she believe happened?
 
I am new to this thread(:
Just a few questions:
*To prove they didn't perish in the fire, is there any way to go back to the site and try to detect any remains/fragments?
*Could the fire have been a cover up targeting the children for the black adoption market?
 
I was an embryo when this happened and it's certainly very haunting. It's not possible, I don't believe, for someone to burn up without leaving any trace - if I'm wrong, I'd like to learn about an example short being beneath an atomic bomb detonation.
 
Either they were taken for a black adoption market or killed and dumped elsewhere.
It's so bizarre almost a whole family can go missing without a trace! Def. some kinda a cover up here. They were beautiful kids!
 
Wow, it sounds suspicious to me! How sad, to lose 5 children. I don't see how there could possibly be NO TRACE found of FIVE people in a fire that lasted only half an hour. What? The professional cremation process isn't even total, but leaves pieces of bone that are pulverized afterwards.
This is insane. I'm not big into conspiracy theories, but this sure sounds fishy.
 
Unfortunately I think the poor children were in the fire, it was just so hot it burnt them up.

Which, incidentally, indicates arson. A normal house fire will not usually get that hot unless there is some sort of accelerant/highly flammable material involved.

:cow:
 
That alledged photo of Louis Sodder is intruiging-is it Louis Sodder, really?!
 
I posted this information 3 or 4 years ago but it surfaced recently in an article. Link posted by wfgodot. I thought it was worth posting again as it is so often debated about how thorough the excavation which was done in 1949 was.

"In August 1949, the Sodders decided to mount a new search at the fire scene and brought in a Washington, D.C. pathologist named Oscar B. Hunter. The excavation was thorough, uncovering several small objects: damaged coins, a partly burned dictionary and several shards of vertebrae. Hunter sent the bones to the Smithsonian Institution, which issued the following report:

The human bones consist of four lumbar vertebrae belonging to one individual. Since the transverse recesses are fused, the age of this individual at death should have been 16 or 17 years. The top limit of age should be about 22 since the centra, which normally fuse at 23, are still unfused. On this basis, the bones show greater skeletal maturation than one would expect for a 14-year-old boy (the oldest missing Sodder child). It is however possible, although not probable, for a boy 14 ½ years old to show 16-17 maturation.

The vertebrae showed no evidence that they had been exposed to fire, the report said, and “it is very strange that no other bones were found in the allegedly careful evacuation of the basement of the house.” Noting that the house reportedly burned for only about half an hour or so, it said that “one would expect to find the full skeletons of the five children, rather than only four vertebrae.” The bones, the report concluded, were most likely in the supply of dirt George used to fill in the basement to create the memorial for his children."



Read more: http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/history/2012/12/the-children-who-went-up-in-smoke/#ixzz2GDNuPNnk
 
When I was heavily following this some time ago, we thought the photo appeared in a Life or Look magazine. I believe someone even went to The Library of Congress to look for it.....this article says it appeared in a newspaper. Wonder what the source was for newspaper instead of magazine.....

FWIW, our house was destroyed by fire some 30 years ago...complete total..but there were plenty of "remains."....I just don't think there was anyway there weren't bones/skeletons.....and our house fire burned a lot longer than 45 minutes. Look at what archeologists do...2000 years after the fact....the site could be looked at even today.
 
That is a good point, leading to the fact they did not perish in the fire...but if they did not perish in the fire, what happened to them? Were ALL of them even in the house when it started on fire? Is it possible someone took these kids, then set the fire to cover it up? But how easily could you abduct 5 kids?
 
Oh, lordy, woke up early thinking about this case.......I remember reading about it in the newspaper with a picture of the billboard with the story when I was a teenager......it's haunted me for years....then years later here comes Websleuths.

I believe there was some speculation that the children weren't in the house but out in the barn, etc. doing late chores, horsing around...At one time I wondered it they were trying to convince the younger children that Santa and his reindeer were coming but didn't realize the danger of something they threw on the roof and then disappeared out of fear...but it doesn't seem likely they would all have stayed out of communication.

Times were different back then and passions ran high. My grandfather was a union organizer in the KC area...his car was blown up (he wasn't in it), his house was "fire" bombed, etc. Many things over those years.

Reading this article it seems likely this was retaliation to the Dad for something (maybe he never disclosed exactly what.) and perhaps if the children were outside, that was unexpected and they were abducted on the spur of the moment to keep them from telling who was involved....no telling what they were told or what kept them away....
I don't remember if we ever knew the precise "origin" of the fire, i.e. what part of the house burned first...easily determined....I do know we...my husband and two young children escaped out of a window for our fire...it seems at least some of the children would have tried....also I was a reporter for many years and covered too many fire deaths...some remains were always found...just like in the Connecticut house fire Christmas a year or two ago....they determined the grandfather was trying to save the children. As for the Sodders, perhaps the bones the Smithsonian investigator found were "salted" by those trying to cover up what had happened.
 
In my years as a reporter, I learned there are always two sides to every story whether I was asking questions for a current piece or doing a historical one...such as on the unsolved homicides in the area, etc. I also learned one can't accept as gospel everything law enforcement says on current cases or old ones. Currently, there is a tendency with LE to be very tight lipped and sometimes even misleading. (the latter stance is creating a lot of distrust with media (which I obviously don't hate as some do...just moo). It also leads the reader/observer to think the "media" is making mistakes...when maybe the culprit is a "good" source being purposely misleading. I do think the "me first" mentality in breaking news reporting is creating issues of credibility.
In my experience, LE tends to be very defensive and dismissive when it comes to discussing old unsolved cases that involved their predecessors...there are a couple of those in this area. Just my experience and something to keep in mind.
 
clueless said:
:seeya: I've spent hours reading about this story, and I've only made it about half way through. I had to search just to find this most recent thread. This story has really gripped my attention. Its fascinating and scary at the same time.

My father was the youngest of 9 children and while there isn't a strong resemblance, George and Jennie remind me of my grandparents. They also lived in a rural coal mining area.

That area is Central City, KY. I consider Central City my home, but really our family farm is in a small town about 8 miles from Central City. Most people consider the whole county their home town, which includes Greenville, Graham, Dunmor, Belton, Beechmont, Browder, Cleaton and several other small towns. Central City High School no longer exists, but the area has been converted into a community wellness center and I believe the old gym is now a museum. I haven't been there, but I may go have a look around soon. My parents go to the wellness center often. The high schools consolidated into Muhlenberg North and Muhlenberg South in 1992 when I was in the 7th grade.

While the photo allegedly of Louis in 1968 was postmarked from Central City, the person in the picture could have lived anywhere in the county. I don't personally recognize the person in the photo, but I plan to show the photo to some family members to see if they recognize him. My father was born about 6 years after the fire, but its possible one of my aunts or uncles may recognize the person. I can also ask them what the area was like back in the late 40s.

If anyone has questions you would like me to ask around, I'll be glad to help in any way I can. I also don't mind getting verified, if necessary at some point.
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I am new to this case,as i just stumbled up on it.
I have a question though about the letter the family recieved...

Wasn't the photo that was sent to the family that was said to the son as an adult postmarked from Central City, KY?

Could the people responsible have been from there or had connection to Central City?
 
Falcon500 said:
Then what does she believe happened?
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Well seeing as how you are the one who came barging in here proclaiming to know how the family felt, etc. why don't you answer your own question? You seem to think you know all about that, so enlighten us, why don't you?
 
TallCoolOne said:
Well seeing as how you are the one who came barging in here proclaiming to know how the family felt, etc. why don't you answer your own question? You seem to think you know all about that, so enlighten us, why don't you?
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Sorry but I did not realize that participating in a discussion amounted to "barging in".

Someone had some idea what the mother thought happened. I asked what did she think? Yet to get an answer.
 
Falcon500 said:
How do you know that they were "extra tired"? One, two, or none of them might have had a nap. Maybe they slept longer that morning. Possibly the entire family worked in a coal mine. <modsnip>

A forensic examination of what? <modsnip> the father bulldozed the entire site four days after the house burned down? There is no "site".

No one was abducted. This is an urban legend that has gotten out of hand and the only people who care are amateur detectives. Nobody in the family or this town cares. They know what happened.
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You say nobody in this town cares, so I must wonder then why you are asking. You might do well to read the other threads here on this and you might learn that some in the family DO still care even if you don't. I'm sorry but you come across rather angry for some reason, although I realize the written word can be misconstrued like that. But I guess my point is, there are family who read and post here and I would think a little sensitivity would go a long way, no?

There would still be a "site" even if the home was bulldozed down. Ever hear of an excavation?
 
Whether it's family, LE, volunteers, "amateur detectives"-it doesn't matter at least someone cares. It's a blessing that there are so many people who come on here to help and put their time in, whether it's in their thoughts or possible matches they sit through looking for for hours to help bring closure for the families. Sending PMs in are what many on here do, and that is a blessing. (Look at Colleen Orsborn's case-she was found by a Websleuths member who sent her in as a PM for a UID. She would still be sitting as UID today if it was not for that "amateur detective" because she was tested previously before against the Jane Doe, and falsely ruled out).
Also, family and friends do come on here quite a bit. And since you state "nobody cares", why, may I ask, are you asking?
 
amber1 said:
Whether it's family, LE, volunteers, "amateur detectives"-it doesn't matter at least someone cares. It's a blessing that there are so many people who come on here to help and put their time in, whether it's in their thoughts or possible matches they sit through looking for for hours to help bring closure for the families. Sending PMs in are what many on here do, and that is a blessing. (Look at Colleen Orsborn's case-she was found by a Websleuths member who sent her in as a PM for a UID. She would still be sitting as UID today if it was not for that "amateur detective" because she was tested previously before against the Jane Doe, and falsely ruled out).
Also, family and friends do come on here quite a bit. And since you state "nobody cares", why, may I ask, are you asking?
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Nobody in the town cares. They would rather people go away. If the family members care then why haven't they organized and dug up the site if there is a site to dig up?

I am still curious to learn what the mother thought happened.
 
Falcon500 said:
Nobody in the town cares. They would rather people go away. If the family members care then why haven't they organized and dug up the site if there is a site to dig up?

I am still curious to learn what the mother thought happened.
Click to expand...

I am curious as well to what the mother thinks may have happened. Perhaps you are right and the people from the town have given up or grown distant to an event that happened so many years ago but there are still family members that come here to read and as Amber stated, sometimes the strangest things happen here- leads are gotten and cases even get solved.

Are you from the town or nearby or know someone who is?
 
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