The Sodder Children Disappearance (1945): Five Children, No Bodies | Unsolved-ish A Strange History Podcast

On Christmas Eve 1945, a fire destroyed the Sodder family home in rural West Virginia. Five children were believed to be trapped inside — yet when the ashes cooled, investigators found no remains. No bones. No teeth. No evidence the children had died at all. Despite this, authorities quickly declared the case closed, insisting the fire burned hot enough to erase every trace. The Sodder family never accepted that explanation. In this episode of Unsolved-ish: A Strange History Podcast, we explore one of the most haunting disappearances in American history. We examine the unanswered questions surrounding the fire, the strange witness sightings, political threats made against the family, and the decades-long effort by the parents to prove their children survived. Was this a tragic accident?
A kidnapping hidden by chaos?
Or a case quietly closed because the truth was too complicated? This is a story about missing children, convenient conclusions, and what happens when an official explanation replaces evidence. Not solved.
Not disproven.
Just… Unsolved-ish.