On Christmas Eve 1945, the Sodder family of Fayetteville, West Virginia, went to bed as usual.
However, a fire broke out in their home in the early hours of the morning, and it quickly became apparent that five of the Sodder children, ranging in age from 5 to 14, were not with the rest of the family.
Despite their efforts, the parents, George and Jennie Sodder, were unable to find the children or save them from the fire.
After the fire was extinguished, investigators combed through the ruins of the Sodder home and found no trace of the missing children, not even bones.
The fire was deemed accidental, caused by faulty wiring.
However, the Sodders believed that their children had not died in the fire and that foul play was involved.
Over the years, the Sodders conducted their own investigation and uncovered several pieces of evidence that suggested their children may have been kidnapped.
For instance, witnesses reported seeing the missing children in a car with out-of-state license plates the night of the fire, and the Sodders received a letter addressed to them postmarked from Kentucky, where they had formerly lived, after the fire, but before any investigation had begun.
Additionally, the Sodders believed that their house had been tampered with prior to the fire to ensure that their smoke alarms and telephone lines were disabled.
Despite their efforts, the Sodders were never able to find their missing children or get answers as to what really happened that fateful night.
The case remains unsolved, and the fate of the Sodder children remains a mystery to this day.
