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Parents George and Jenny managed to escape the fire with their two oldest children and their two daughters, however, five more children disappeared from the face of the earth, and their remains were never found, which is why the mother and father believed that it was a kidnapping for the rest of their lives. .
Based on the testimonies, it could easily be concluded that they literally “evaporated”, because no physical evidence of their remains was found in the ruins, which is scientifically impossible.
Parents had to cope not only with the loss of their children, but also with the mysterious circumstances of their disappearance. Until the end of their lives, the Soders believed the children were alive and pointed out the unusual circumstances of the fire.
The family suspected that they might have been kidnapped, either for extortion or revenge by the Sicilian mafia because George openly criticized Benito Mussolini and the fascist government of Italy. Attempts by authorities to investigate the case further in the early 1950s were unsuccessful, and the last (known) living descendant of the Soder family, Sylvia (69), still does not believe that her brothers and sisters disappeared in the fire.
The family home was never rebuilt, but it was turned into a memorial garden in memory of the missing children.
UNUSUAL WARNINGS
George Soder was born Giorgio Soda in Tula, Sardinia in 1895. He immigrated to the United States 13 years later and did not talk about why he left his native Italy until the end of his life. After marrying Jenny, they settled near Fayetteville, where there was a large population of Italian immigrants. Their first child was born in 1923 and their last, Sylvia, in 1943. Their second oldest son, Joe, left home to serve in the military during World War II.
In October 1945, a business traveler knocked on Soder’s door, offering security. When he was rejected, he warned George that his house would “go up in flames and the children would be destroyed”, attributing the threats to “dirty criticisms he made of Mussolini.”
Another visitor, who was looking for work, warned George that his fuse box “would one day start a fire.” George was confused because he had conducted electricity again shortly before, when a stove was installed in the house, and electricians from the local company confirmed that everything was safe.
Weeks before Christmas, her older children noticed a strange car parked alongside a road through town, whose passengers watched Soder’s younger children as they returned from school.
CHRISTMAS NIGHT
The Soders celebrated Christmas Eve on December 24, 1945. Upon their return from work, the oldest daughter, Marion, surprised her three younger sisters: Martha (12), Jenny (8) and Betty (5) with new toys. The mother allowed the excited children to stay awake longer and go to sleep with their older sons, 14-year-old Maurice and 9-year-old Luis. George and two older boys, John (23) and George Jr. (16), went to bed early.
The mother also went to the bedroom with Sylvia, who was then 2 years old. Half an hour after midnight the phone rang, Jenny came down to answer it. An unknown female voice asked for an unknown person, and laughter and clinking of glasses were heard in the background. Jenny said they got the wrong number, then recalled that the woman “laughed strangely.” He went back to bed, noticing that the curtains weren’t drawn and the light wasn’t off.
Marion fell asleep on the sofa in the living room, so Jenny assumed the other children had already gone to bed. At about 1 o’clock he woke up again, because he heard the impact of an object on the ceiling and felt smoke. George’s study was on fire and the fire was spreading through the phone line and the fuse box.
The parents and four children, Marion, Sylvia, John and George Jr., ran away from home. All attempts to find the other children were unexpectedly difficult.
The children were called from the floor but there was no answer. They couldn’t go up because the fire was engulfing the stairs. George climbed the wall barefoot, smashed an attic window where the children slept, and cut his hand on glass. He intended to save the children with a ladder, but could not find them at his place or anywhere near.
He then tried to get a van to climb to the window, but neither of his two vehicles worked, even though they had worked perfectly the day before. Desperate, they watched as the house collapsed into flames for the next 45 minutes. They assumed that the children died in the fire, but firefighters were unable to find remains among the ashes, such as bones.
Fire Chief FJ Morris believed the children died in the fire and said it was hot enough for their bodies to be completely burned. George buried the crematorium and a local coroner called for an investigation. Death certificates were issued on December 30, and the parents were unable to attend the funeral on January 2, 1946. Their surviving children left.
QUESTIONS
Soon after, the Soders began to question the investigation’s findings. They wondered why the Christmas lights were on when the fire started when there was no electricity to start it. Ladders were also missing, which were found at the foot of the embankment 23 meters from the house.
The phone technician told the Soders that the line was not burned in the fire as they thought, but was cut by someone who was able to climb and reach it.
A man was arrested for theft of property at the time of the fire. He said he cut the phone line thinking it was electricity, but denied starting the fire. However, why he crossed the line during the robbery was never explained, and his name is not recorded anywhere.
The parents could not accept that there was no trace of the children left in the ruins.
It was also suspicious that George’s trucks could not start. George believed that someone had deliberately spoiled them. There was also a midnight call before the fire. However, investigators later found the woman who called and confirmed that an error had occurred.
WITNESSES
The events of early 1946 only further convinced the family that the children were alive somewhere. A bus driver passing through Fayetteville on the fateful night said he saw some people throw “fireballs” at the house. A few months later, when the snow melted, Sylvia found a hard, dark green object in the bushes. George said it looked like a bomb or an incendiary device used in combat. The family later claimed, contrary to the authorities’ findings, that the fire started on the roof.
Witnesses also appeared. A woman who saw the fire from the road said she saw one of the missing children looking out the window of a passing car. A woman from a hotel in Charleston claimed to have served them breakfast.
Investigators did not accept his accusations because he saw photos of children only two years after the fire.
The Soders hired a private detective, CC Tinsley, who learned that the insurance salesman who threatened George was a member of the forensic commission when it was concluded that the fire was an accident. He also heard rumors that the fire chief, Maurice, found a heart in the ashes, which he put in a metal box and secretly set fire. When George went to Maurice’s house with the detective, he agreed to show them the box. It turned out that inside was fresh beef liver that was not exposed to fire.
Morris later admitted that the liver did not come from the fire site, but placed it there in the hope that the Soders would find it and accept the fact that their children had been burned.
In August 1949, George convinced pathologist Oscar Hunter to start a new investigation. A detailed search of the crematorium found several bone fragments, which turned out to be human vertebrae, all from the same person. Depending on their age, they belonged to a person aged 16 to 22, which was not suitable for children. The oldest of the Morrises was 14 years old at the time and the bone fragments were not exposed to the flames.
The report concluded that the bones came with the dirt George buried the crematorium with. It was also said that it was “very strange” that only that was found, because after such a short fire, whole skeletons would remain.
CASE CLOSED, HOPE REMAINS
An alleged 1967 photo of Luis Soder, the FBI closed the case in 1950, but the Soders did not lose hope. They printed brochures with pictures of children, first offering $ 5,000 and then $ 10,000 in information prizes, and finally putting up a billboard with their faces on the road, which over time became a recognizable symbol in Fayetteville.
Later, George followed up on various reports relating to his children, but to no avail. However, in 1967 an unusual letter appeared saying that at least Luis was alive. Jenny received a letter from Central City in Kentucky with a photo of a 30-year-old man who looked incredibly like Louis, and in the background was written: “Louis Soder, I love my brother Frankie, little kids, A90132 or 35.”
The family hired a detective to investigate, but he never contacted them with the report, nor were they able to find it later. George Soder died in 1969 and Jenny in 1989. Surviving children with grandchildren are still searching for answers. Sylvia’s daughter said in 2013 that her mother promised her parents that she would not let the story die and that she would do everything possible.
Kurir.rs/Blic/Unilad
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