A Christmas Time Fire Mystery in W.Va. The missing Sodder Children What Really Happened?

I spend a lot of time in W.Va. and was listening to a  distant AM radio station when traveling down to Charleston W.Va. one day  when I heard this incredible story about a family of 5 children  from Fayetteville believed to have possibly been kidnapped and the crime covered up when the family home was deliberately set on fire. and local authorities standing in the way preventing the finding of answers .




14 yr old Maurice ,12 yr old Martha, 10 yr old Louis ,8 yr old Jennie 6 yr old  Bettie all went missing that night  after there mother got a mysterious wrong number phone call  and then the fire broke out later that early morning .

The mafia possibly being involved. which is strange I never heard of any mob family being involved in that part of W. Va. however Mr. Sodder had just started a thriving Coal Trucking outfit and you better believe the unions would be  interested in that if he got big enough  and we know the affiliation of the mob and teamsters during Jimmy Hoffa era. But this was before that. and it was a small company .  But from what I can find there was no threats or intimidation of any kind by the unions,that Mr. Sodder reported he was a small fry . But he was threatened by a man selling life insurance  who threatened to burn the home and ironically ended up on the jury that ruled all the children had died in the fire.

The fire was definitely arson  as the sound of a rolling bottle then an explosion  and a delivery driver reporting seeing something flying thru the air. But even as hot as the fire got there is no way the body's would have been consumed any fire expert or scientists would agree. But the Sicilian  Mob involved highly unlikely they only killed there own over business or those who would get in the way and threaten them. 
and would not kill children and an insult especially about Mussolini who tied to kill all the mafia at time in Italy no chance they where involved.   

So that leaves an Italian Insurance salesman and his kinfolk as suspect who could have kidnapped the children and sent them to Italy to live but you would think at some point as these children where old enough they would go looking for answers unless they where totally convinced by the story they where given. Or there are darker things which could have been done to them from killing them to being sold into child sexual slavery and worse.Unfortunately so much time has passed and there are plenty of people who should have went to prison over how this whole matter  went down. but they are long gone and not talking but surely there relatives know.  But in W.Va.  like in Kentucky there has always been backwoods justice  just look at the Hatfields and McCoys.  Will the real truth ever come out ? maybe some day when everyone involved has passed and the children or grandchildren  feel brave enough to talk about it. 




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