On Christmas Eve 1945 the Sodder family home in Fayetteville, West Virginia, burned to the ground. Parents George and Jennie Sodder and four of their nine children escaped, but five children—Maurice, 14; Martha, 12; Louis, 9; Jennie, 8; and Betty, 5—were never seen again after the fire. Authorities ruled the blaze accidental and said the children had perished, but no conclusive remains of the five were found in the ashes.

The night contained several unusual details: Jennie Sodder got a late-night anonymous phone call from a woman who laughed before hanging up, a loud thud was heard on the roof, a ladder usually kept by the house was missing, and the family’s vehicles wouldn’t start. The local fire department was delayed because a truck wouldn’t start and manpower was limited. George Sodder disputed the official finding of faulty wiring, saying the house had recently been rewired and inspected.

The family pursued other leads for decades, placing a roadside billboard, offering a reward, and following tips and alleged sightings. A 1968 mailed photograph of a young man resembling Louis, with a cryptic note on the back, deepened their doubts but wasn’t solved. The Sodders maintained they might have survived; the five children’s fate remains unresolved.

If anyone knew the Sodder family, the neighborhood that night, or ever saw the pictured young man, can you share what you remember?