The Sodder Children

Episode 125 The Sodder Children In the early morning hours of Christmas day, 1945, the Sodder family of Fayetteville, West Virginia was asleep when suddenly, they were jolted awake by smoke. It quickly was evident that a fast moving fire had started, and time was running out for parents George and Jennie Sodder to make sure their nine children got out of the house. Within a short time, the family had gathered outside of the home as it burned to the ground. But the Sodders quickly realized that five of their nine children were not with them. Unaccounted for were 14 year old Maurice, 12 year old Martha, 10 year old Louis, 8 year old Jennie, and 5 year old Betty. It appeared that the five children had tragically died in the fire. But a lack of answers, and remains, as well as questionable actions by authorities at the scene, left George and Jennie believing that perhaps their children had not died in the fire after all. There were also things that concerned them on the night of the fire ranging from a noise on the roof, to a cut phone line, to a missing ladder. Were the Sodders simply heartbroken parents who could not accept they their children had died, or was there more than meets the eye with this fire? Debate over this mysterious case rages to this day. In this episode, Miranda Weeks, the great, great granddaughter of George and Jennie Sodder is our guest, and she discusses the puzzling aspects of this case. To listen to every episode of Missing Persons early, and ad-free, and get other benefits, simply visit our channel page on Apple Podcasts to get started with an AbJack Insider subscription. Follow us on social media; https://linktr.ee/missingpersonspodcast ©2026 AbJack Entertainemt- All rights reserved. This content is the sole property of AbJack Entertainment. Any unauthorized use, re-selling, re-purposing, or re-distribution, is strictly prohibited, and will be subject to legal action.