VANISHED IN SMOKE : The Sodder Children Mystery

What this episode covers

On Christmas Eve 1945, the Sodder family home in Fayetteville, West Virginia, went up in flames. George and Jennie Sodder escaped with four of their children, but five more were trapped inside. By morning, the house was reduced to ash — yet no trace of the missing children was ever found. Were they consumed by fire, or taken under the cover of smoke? From vanished bones to cut phone lines, strange late-night calls, and decades of sightings, this case blurs the line between accident and abduction. The Sodder parents never stopped searching, their grief and determination immortalized on a billboard that stood for over 40 years.SURVEYObscurata Discussed FACEBOOK GROUPThe BOOKBY US A COFFEESubscribe to our PATREONEMAIL us your storiesJoin us on INSTAGRAMJoin us on TWITTERJoin us on FACEBOOKVisit our WEBSITESources:https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-happened-sodder-children-siblings-who-went-up-in-smoke-west-virginia-house-fire-172429802/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodder_children_disappearancehttps://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1370https://www.wvpublic.org/news/2020-12-24/the-75-year-old-mystery-of-the-missing-sodder-childrenhttps://www.fayobserver.com/story/news/2020/12/23/sodder-children-west-virginia-christmas-eve-fire-mystery-unsolved/4005563001/Thanks so much for listening, and I'll catch up with you again on Thursday.Sarah xxSURVEY https://podcastsurvey.typeform.com/to/mDi5IVFf Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Obscurata | True Scary, Paranormal, Ghost, Supernatural & Mysterious Stories?

This episode is 29 minutes long.

When was this Obscurata | True Scary, Paranormal, Ghost, Supernatural & Mysterious Stories episode published?

This episode was published on September 22, 2025.

What is this episode about?

On Christmas Eve 1945, the Sodder family home in Fayetteville, West Virginia, went up in flames. George and Jennie Sodder escaped with four of their children, but five more were trapped inside. By morning, the house was reduced to ash — yet no trace...

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