The Sodder Family Tragedy PDF Download

Author: Douglas MacGowan
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781942294085
Category : Missing children
Languages : en
Pages : 27

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Book Description
One Christmas Eve in 1945, the Sodder family goes to sleep, the kids dreaming of Santa. By morning, their house is in ashes and five young children have vanished. Cursory policing, planted "evidence", Italian politics, and small town crime all play into the picture. The FBI was called in, but no records remain of their investigation. This is a story that has fueled speculation well beyond Fayetteville, West Virginia for decades. Coincidences, highly unusual unexplainable events, and peculiar behavior are present at every turn in this true-life tragedy. Read about nationwide when it happened, and investigated and reported on in West Virginia all the way up till the 1970s, this is a story you will never forget. This is indeed a most unbelievable yet true story; and the title of the 1970 report on the subject called The Saddest Christmas Story Ever Told still rings true.

Author: Chelsea Queen
Publisher: Independently Published
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
In the small town of Fayetteville, West Virginia, the Sodder family's picturesque life was shattered on a fateful Christmas Eve in 1945. What began as a night of celebration soon turned into a harrowing ordeal that would haunt the Sodder family for generations to come. "The Sodder Family: A Story of Tragedy and Hope" unveils the gripping true story of a family's unimaginable tragedy and their unrelenting quest for answers and closure. As the Sodder children peacefully slept in their cozy home, a devastating fire erupted, reducing the house to ashes in a matter of hours. While five of the children managed to escape, five others mysteriously vanished into the night. The circumstances surrounding the fire were bizarre and perplexing, raising suspicions of foul play. Where were the missing Sodder children, and what had really happened on that fateful night? Chelsea Queen delves deep into the heart-wrenching mystery that has baffled investigators and sparked countless theories for nearly eight decades. Drawing from exhaustive research and interviews with surviving family members, this book unveils a tale of heartbreak, resilience, and the unyielding spirit of a grieving family. From the initial shock of the fire to the relentless pursuit of answers, "The Sodder Family" takes readers on an unforgettable journey filled with twists, turns, and a quest for justice. Amid the tragedy, hope emerges as the Sodder family embarks on a relentless crusade to uncover the truth about their missing children. Their tireless efforts, the enduring love of parents George and Jennie Sodder, and the unbreakable bonds of family form the backbone of this captivating narrative. In "The Sodder Family: A Story of Tragedy and Hope," readers will be drawn into a compelling tale of sorrow, suspicion, and the enduring power of familial love. This gripping account explores the depths of human determination, the relentless pursuit of justice, and the enduring legacy of a family's unwavering hope in the face of unspeakable tragedy.

Author: Dorothy Miles
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781548715182
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 62

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Book Description
On Christmas Eve 1945, a fire consumed a two-story house timber house outside Fayetteville, West Virginia that was occupied by George Sodder, his wife Jennie, and nine of their ten children (the oldest, Joe, was serving in World War II at the time.) Yet, the story has never been solved and there are still questions that haunt both the town of Fayetteville and the remaining Sodder child, Sylvia Sodder Paxton, is still hunting for the truth and trying to answer the question that has haunted the family and many for 62 years. What happened to the remaining children: Maurice (14), Martha (12), Louis (9), Jennie (8), and Betty (5)?

Author: Michael Newton
Publisher: Infobase Publishing
ISBN: 1438119143
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 449

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Book Description
Over 800 entries examine the facts, evidence, and leading theories of a variety of unsolved murders, robberies, kidnappings, serial killings, disappearances, and other crimes.

Author: Bob Bragg
Publisher: Quarrier Press
ISBN: 9781942294368
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Early Christmas morning 1945, just outside Fayetteville, WVa, a fire destroyed the home of George and Jennie Sodder--taking five of their children. Strange phone calls, death threats, and a mysterious man watching the house were just a few of the puzzling events that preceded the fire. No remains of the children were found--yet the official report said all five children perished in the fire. This prompted George to begin an investigation that would continue the rest of his life. In 1949, the family re-excavated the site looking for human remains. This only raised more questions than answers. Undeterred, Mr. Sodder took the unprecedented step of erecting a large billboard on his property with an offer of a $5,000 reward. For decades, the billboard was an icon in Fayette County. After the death of George and Jennie, the family removed the billboard and do not discuss the case. This enduring Fayette County mystery still causes some to only speak about it in whispers, while others still fear for their lives. Bob Bragg spent seven years devoted to researching every possible lead in this case. This is the definitive account of one of West Virginia's most famous and enduring mysteries. A fascinating, captivating, and enjoyable read from start to finish.

Author: Geoffrey C. Fuller
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 1439673969
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 393

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Book Description
Some said that the killer couldn't be a local. Others claimed that he was the wealthy son of a prominent Morgantown family. Whispers spread that Mared and Karen were sacrificed by a satanic cult or had been victims of a madman poised to strike again. Then the handwritten letters began to arrive: "You will locate the bodies of the girls covered over with brush--look carefully. The animals are now on the move." Investigators didn't find too few suspects--they had far too many. There was the campus janitor with a fur fetish, the "harmless" deliveryman who beat a woman nearly to death, the nursing home orderly with the bloody broomstick and the bouncer with the "girlish" laugh who threatened to cut off people's heads. Local authors Geoffrey C. Fuller and S. James McLaughlin tell the complete story of the murders for the first time.

Author: Richard M. Wunderli
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISBN: 9780253367259
Category : Christian pilgrims and pilgrimages
Languages : en
Pages : 182

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Book Description
One night in 1476 in the small southern German town of Niklashausen, an illiterate shepherd and street musician by the name of Hans Behem had a vision of the Virgin Mary. This work sets the pieces of the story into their cultural, religious, and political context. It explores important questions about the period and about historical memory.

Author: Emma Copley Eisenberg
Publisher: Hachette Books
ISBN: 0316449202
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
*** A NEW YORK TIMES "100 Notable Books of 2020" *** A stunning, complex narrative about the fractured legacy of a decades-old double murder in rural West Virginia—and the writer determined to put the pieces back together. In the early evening of June 25, 1980 in Pocahontas County, West Virginia, two middle-class outsiders named Vicki Durian, 26, and Nancy Santomero, 19, were murdered in an isolated clearing. They were hitchhiking to a festival known as the Rainbow Gathering but never arrived. For thirteen years, no one was prosecuted for the “Rainbow Murders” though deep suspicion was cast on a succession of local residents in the community, depicted as poor, dangerous, and backward. In 1993, a local farmer was convicted, only to be released when a known serial killer and diagnosed schizophrenic named Joseph Paul Franklin claimed responsibility. As time passed, the truth seemed to slip away, and the investigation itself inflicted its own traumas—-turning neighbor against neighbor and confirming the fears of violence outsiders have done to this region for centuries. In The Third Rainbow Girl, Emma Copley Eisenberg uses the Rainbow Murders case as a starting point for a thought-provoking tale of an Appalachian community bound by the false stories that have been told about. Weaving in experiences from her own years spent living in Pocahontas County, she follows the threads of this crime through the complex history of Appalachia, revealing how this mysterious murder has loomed over all those affected for generations, shaping their fears, fates, and desires. Beautifully written and brutally honest, The Third Rainbow Girl presents a searing and wide-ranging portrait of America—divided by gender and class, and haunted by its own violence.

Author: Douglas MacGowan
Publisher: Greenwood Publishing Group
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 200

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Book Description
Examinining the life and 1857 trial of Madeleine Smith accused of poisoning an undesired suitor, this book uses analyses of her correspondence with the victim. Her trial testimony reveals much about Victorian society, Scottish law and the woman.

Author: Stacy Horn
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1440649243
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
Between 1985 and 2004 a staggering 8,894 unsolved homicides were committed in New York City. Here is the first ever inside look at the elite NYPD squad that cracks these “unsolvable” cases. In this fascinating, in-depth narrative, Stacy Horn uses her unprecedented access to the NYPD Cold Case Squad to immerse herself into four unsolved murder cases—cases going back as far as 1951—investigated by three indefatigable Cold Case detectives. Each detective uses his own contacts, informants, and resources and sifts through decades-old evidence, searching for new leads, looking for what others missed, and uncovering any possible connections. These Cold Case detectives are on a constant hunt for the needle in the haystack, and Stacy Horn puts you there every step of the way. From the grisly circumstances and desperate reconstructions of the crimes, through the endless legwork, the scientific advances that don’t always yield hoped-for answers, and the harrowing politics and tangled history of the storied NYPD, Horn depicts the drama of each case, and lays out the puzzle as seen through the eyes of the detectives. At once contemplative and energetic, The Restless Sleep is a completely addictive, fly-on-the-wall story of a subculture of crime solving, and of the people who must beat the odds to offer a final resolution for the unavenged.