Description

Five children vanished during a 1945 house fire—no remains were ever found. Accident or abduction?

On Christmas Eve 1945, fire consumed the Sodder family home in Fayetteville, West Virginia. Five children—Maurice, Martha, Louis, Jennie, and Betty—were never seen again. Authorities quickly ruled their deaths accidental, claiming the children's bodies were completely destroyed in the blaze.

But no human remains were ever found. Not bones, not teeth, not a trace.

The missing ladder that could have saved them. The mysteriously disabled trucks. The severed phone lines. The witness sightings of the children alive after the fire. The threats against their father for his anti-fascist political views.

In this gripping investigation, host Paul Stiling examines eight decades of evidence that points to a shocking conclusion: the Sodder children didn't die in that fire—they were kidnapped in one of the most perfectly executed abductions in American history.

Featuring exclusive analysis of:

• The suspicious circumstances surrounding the fire
• Witness testimonies dismissed by authorities
• The psychology of long-term captivity
• Modern forensic evidence that destroys the official narrative
• Why this case remains unsolved nearly 80 years later

Content Warning: This episode discusses child abduction and contains descriptions of psychological manipulation.

Runtime: 60 minutes

True Crime, Cold Cases, Missing Persons, Unsolved Mysteries, 1945, West Virginia, Sodder Children, House Fire, Kidnapping, Investigation, Paranormal, Criminal Investigation, Historical Mysteries, Family Disappearance

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