Missing Sodder Children /// Part 1 /// 892 | Forensic Files

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beer. Let's talk some true crime. [music] [bell] [music] >> [laughter] >> December 26th, 1945.
The terrifying headline from the New York Times reads, "11 children die and four home fires. Weatherman's Christmas
greetings to two cities." That headline refers to a Times article reporting on multiple fatal Christmas Eve home fires,
including the infamous incident where five Solder children disappeared in Fagetville, West Virginia, after their
house burned down, sparking a famous mystery of potential kidnapping and unresolved disappearance.
The report details how a fire destroyed the solder home with officials believing
the five children perished, though no remains were found, leading the family to suspect foul play and fueling decades
of investigation. Early reporting places George and Jenny Solder and nine of their 10 children
asleep in the two-story home. A blazing fire quickly consumed their home in the middle of a frigid night, killing five
children while parents and four siblings escaped. It was very cold with temperatures dropping below freezing
during the night. It was cold enough that the area experienced a white Christmas. No remains were found in the
rubble, leading the family to believe that the children were abducted before the fire. A belief reinforced by
suspicious circumstances and subsequent unconfirmed leads. The New York Times headline 11 children die in four home
fires, weatherman's Christmas greetings to two cities specifically covered this in other Christmas Day tragedies. But it
was the solder case that gained lasting fame due to the missing children. This is True Crime Garage. [music]
[music] We have featured many, many [music] cases over the years. We have covered
and gone over hundreds of unsolved murder mysteries, some of them cold cases. We have one here tonight on tap
that will chill you to the bone. We often attempt to remind folks that each case is unique. You cannot nor should
not ever go into one of these cases with the mindset that you have seen it all before because you and we have not. If
you put blinders on, you will very likely prevent yourself from ever seeing the truth. This week's case is unique
and unlike any other case that we have covered in so many ways, but one way in particular that makes this one stand
alone. Again, we have reviewed many cases when and where additional investigating agencies and resources get
involved, but this is the first that I recall that we have the Smithsonian Institution
that became involved in this case. And it's a very strange and tragic Christmas mystery. This unsolved mystery is often
referred to as the Solder Children disappearance. This is when in 1945, five of the 10 Solder children simply
vanished after their house burned down, sparking a famous mystery that has fueled decades of investigation. Now,
let's get into some of the facts of the case, the timeline, and learn a bit about the Solder family by going back to
the early 1900s. The parents of the 10 Solder children are George and Jenny Solder, who were
both originally from Italy. So, let's go back to 1911 when a young teenager, just
a boy, really, only 13 years old, named Giorgio, immigrates from Sardinia, Italy
to the United States. Once here, he is now George Solder, his American name. Not much is known about his time before
he came to the state of West Virginia, but what is known is that he lived in Pennsylvania and Michigan for some time
and worked on the railroad. On a draft registration card from 1917, he states that he was sending money back to his
parents. Sometime in the early 1920s, he arrived in Smithers, West Virginia, and
worked both in the coal mines and as a taxi driver. Smithers is where he would meet his soon-to-be wife, Jenny. Jenny
was born Jenny Cypriyani in March of 1903 in Italy. She was the second born of six siblings, two boys and four
girls. She came to America with her parents in 1904. They eventually moved to Smithers, West Virginia, where her
father, Joseph Cypriyani, eventually opened a store called The Music Box. Jenny would work at the Music Box
sometimes, and that is where she met George Solder. They were married on November 4th, 1922. And then George and
Jenny Solder over the next 20 years would go on to have 10 children. So there's a dozen in the Solder Clan.
That's a lot of kitis. >> George and Jenny lived in Smithers until 1935 when they decided to move to
Fagatville. Makes some sense here as Fagville during those days had a large population of Italian immigrants. By
then they already had seven children. John, Joe, Marian, George Jr., who actually went by Ted, Maurice, Martha,
and Lewis. So, the big family is going to be moving and George decided to leave the coal mines and begin working for a
local businessman. His name is Fenzo Jonnutello. >> Yeah, it seemed like this area had a
high population of Italians. >> Fenzo Jonnutello co-owned Jonotello and company with his first cousin, Cleante
Jonatello. In October of 1935, the solders bought the land where the fire would eventually occur and built a
twostory house with a full basement. Donatello agreed to cosign the loan for the house
under the condition that he be made beneficiary of the home insurance. And to this arrangement, George agreed. Now
sometime in 1943, George decided to part ways with Jonatello and bought a failing company.
This was the Dempsey Transfer Company. It is rumored that Jonotello was not happy with George leaving him or
George's decision. But George would eventually change the name of this company to the Solder Trucking Company
and it and ran it with the help of his two oldest sons, John and Joe. and left Jenny in charge of handling the books
for the company. George's business prospered and they became quote one of the most respected middleclass families
around end quote. This was the words of one local official. By 1945, the couple had 10 children,
adding Jenny, Betty, and Sylvia to the mix. Also in 1945 in major world news, it was finally the end of World War II.
Of course, we know that the Allies won, but it's a little difficult to use the word one when over 70 million people
worldwide were killed. But Germany surrendered in May of 1945 and then Japan surrenders in August of that same
year. But before all of that, in April of 1945, the man who was the dictator of Italy, Benito Mussolini,
dictator up until 1943, was executed after being overthrown and arrested. Now, please note that I didn't go out of
my way to mention Mussolini as that name and the country of Italy come up quite a
bit in the theories and speculation portions of this case. Now, let's zoom in, captain, on the latter part of 1945.
The day in question will be Christmas 1945, but let's go right around 60 days before Christmas when the former
business partner and co-signer of the home, Jonathello, tells his friend, he sends his friend and insurance salesman,
Roser Long to the Solder residence. this to try to convince George to raise the amount of insurance currently on the
house and also take out life insurance on every member of the solder family. George takes the meeting, listens to
what this salesman has to say, but declines to raise the insurance and declines the life insurance on the
members of his family. >> Yeah. Then it seems to get pretty heated. >> Yes. There's varying reports of this uh
but the one that seems to ring the most true to me anyway is Jonatello then visited the solder home. I guess this is
at his anger that George wouldn't sign up for the additional insurance. The report I have in front of me, again,
reported various ways, but the report I have in front of me, Jonatello visited the home and stated to George, quote, "I
see you have refused to take out insurance and refuse to sign the papers to settle Mrs. Solder's father's estate.
Your godamn house is going up in smoke, and your children are going to be destroyed, and you are going to pay for
the dirty remarks you have been making about Mussolini." End quote. He was a lover of Mussolini.
>> Okay, we need to point out something here that's that's reported everywhere in in in all accounts of this the
telling of this true crime story. It seems to be no secret that George Slaughter George Sold was not a fan of
Bonito Mussolini. In fact, he was rather vocal at his dislike for Mussolini. God
forbid you say something bad about uh a dictator of a country who chooses to join the enemy partnering with a
genocidal maniac like Hitler. >> Yeah, >> I couldn't think of anything good to say
about Mussolini, but also I don't want my house burned down. So don't hold it against me, folks. So sometime after
this threat was made by Jonatello, but before the Christmas fire, >> right, there was a man that came to the
Solder residence and asked George if he needed any work done on the place. It's believed that this man was known to
George, but I couldn't find his name in any reports. So George tells the man that no, we're
good and we don't need any work performed at the solder residence. This nameless man then supposedly walked
around to the back of the house, pointed to two separate fuse boxes and said, "That's going to start a fire someday."
To which George replies, "We have an electric stove and then we had to have an extra fuse box installed for it."
Now, it is stated in many reports elsewhere that George also said that they had electricians, professional
electricians that came out, installed this fuse box, >> right, >> and signed off on it that it was
perfectly safe. >> Yeah. But you got to remember the time period. It's 1945. And throughout the
years, practices of the past have had to be upgraded be due to safety and hazardous reasons. Yes, signing off on
electric being perfectly safe has been done countless times and we've also had uncountable house fires due to bad
wiring or electrical issues. The report is though as as said that he informs this guy of hey everything's fine here.
We don't need any work. You're wrong about the fuse box. And then this man leaves again. this man nameless in in
all of the reports. >> Well, and I think it's funny that when the one guy says, "Your house is going
to burn down," we assume that that was a threatening remark. But this guy that was known to the father says something
and we don't take that as a threatening remark. We take that as more as like, "Hey, that fuse box is going to start a
fire. You might want to be careful. You might want to get that checked." >> Yeah. It's whatever happened here is
stuck with George. And it would make sense because this is only about a week before the fire. But I don't have any
thing to tell me how he took that information to to be if he took it as a threat or just as a oh hey man that's
going to catch fire someday. For about a week leading up to the fire, the solders
would later report seeing an automobile being parked across the street with a man inside this vehicle that seemed to
be watching the house and they thought watching the children getting off of the school bus. The day of the fire, George,
the dad, and two sons, John and Ted, were busy making deliveries. Now, the daughter, one of the daughters,
Marion, was working a shift at a local store. She arrived home armed with gifts for her younger siblings. Now, we go to
10:30 p.m. Jenny the mom announced that, "Hey, it's time for bed." But we have Maurice, Martha, Lewis, Jenny, the
daughter, and Betty. These five kids, they asked if they could stay up late, past the bedtime. They wanted to play
with the toys that they had just received, the gifts they had just received, and listen to the radio.
Marian had already fallen asleep on the couch by this time. Now, it's my understanding
this was a pretty regular occurrence. Many times, she actually preferred to sleep on the couch in the living room
instead of upstairs. Jenny agreed to let the five kids stay up as long as they completed their chores, which included
taking care of the outside animals, closing the blinds to the house, locking the doors, and turning off the lights.
George, Jenny, Sylvia, John, and Ted were all in bed by 11:00. And remember, we have Marion sleeping on the couch.
This is the last time, depending on which report you read, and we'll we'll get into the details as we go, but this
is the last time that a member of the Solder family saw the five children that would be later declared
dead and argued to be missing. At around 12:30 a.m., Jenny wakes up. This is due
to a phone call. When she answered the phone, she said she could hear laughing and talking in the background. And a
woman asked her for someone, you know, by name. Hey, is soando there? And Jenny's like, I don't know who this is.
Jenny informs them that they have the wrong number. And the call ended. >> Yeah. And I think they hear some like
glasses clinking in the back and and some people talking and and and then like you said, some kind of weird
laughter. Before going back to bed, she noticed that the lights were still on and the doors were not locked. She
figured that the children just forgot and locked the doors herself before she then returned to bed. Shortly before
falling back asleep, she said she heard what she thought sounded like something hitting the roof and then rolling off.
She considered waking her husband, but she figured it was likely just a tree limb. And she does go back to sleep.
Now, the reports on this next part vary by the minutes, okay? And I think it'll be clear as to why we don't have this
down pinpointed to the exact minute. Some reports say that this was as early as 1:00 am. Some reports have this as
late as 1:30 a.m. But sometime between 1:00 am and 1:30 a.m., Jenny says that she woke up again, this time to the
smell of smoke, she got up to check it out, and this is when she said that she discovered a fire
in the room that they used as their office. The fire was spreading rapidly and was already blocking her path to the
telephone. She immediately yells to her husband, George. She runs to the living room to
wake up Marion, who then grabbed Sylvia and then yelled up the stairs to wake the sleeping children. She then ran
outside to try and put out the fire from the outside of the house. The two sons,
John and George Jr., heard their mother yelling and immediately jumped out of bed and started down the stairs, yelling
to their other siblings to wake up and get out of the house. As they were going down the stairs, the fire was spreading
so fast that their hair was singed as they were fleeing the home. They made it outside as well, also in hopes to help
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you, Colonel. >> Cheers to you. A holiday cheers to you, Captain. >> We're drinking some spiked eggnog.
>> Well, I'm drinking holiday cheer by Shiner, but uh spiked eggnog does sound fantastic.
>> Always have to be a oneupper. Well, I I don't know if I'm oneupping you. I'm just simply drinking the beer of the
week. But what we have going on now here in the timeline, right, is a family divided. We have about half of the
family outside of the home. The home is ablaze. The portion of the family that's
outside, we have the parents, we have Sylvia, who is the youngest, and then we have some of the older children as well.
two sons and one daughter. They're outside and they are realizing that five of the
soldered kids were presumably still inside of the home >> and they have to assume that they are
trapped upstairs. I do want to note something here. All right, we've already pointed out that
they had 10 children. One of them was not at the home that night. So, we only have nine solder children to be
concerned with with this houseire, right? But the home itself is divided into a girl's room and a boy's room. So,
one part of this story that seems odd to me is we have the two older sons that when they wake up, I would assume if you
have a girl's room and a boy's room that all the boys would be in one room and all the girls would be in the other
room. The two boys are not saying that that that their brothers are seen in the room with them when they wake up and
start running down the stairs. But again, as far as most of this family is concerned, the kids that are missing,
they were all they all stayed up later than the rest of the family, >> right? So now once outside, this is
pretty smart. So remember, it's a twostory home with a full basement. You're outside. You assume that your
other children are trapped upstairs. So George and the two oldest sons, they go George owns this trucking company. They
have two trucks outside. They're going to attempt to start both of these trucks because these are large
vehicles. Their idea is, let's back them up to the house. We'll climb on top of them so we can reach the second story
and we can get the the other kids out. they can hop down on top of the truck and we'll all be fine.
>> Right. So, they're attempting to start the trucks. They are unable to get these
vehicles started. They were all at the same time yelling for the children to get out of the house. Get out of the
house. Wake up. Get out of the house. None of the solders outside of the home say that they heard the kids inside the
house or saw them at any of the windows. Yeah, we have nobody in the family being
able to put them in the house while the fire is happening, whether it's visual or, you know, through audible. But also,
it's not just these these trucks. These trucks are kind of the second attempt because the first attempt was Mr. Solder
had a a ladder that was always placed against the house for some reason. So, he initially went to get up that ladder
and the ladder was gone. Yeah, the again the reports vary here. We have a lot of
moving pieces and parts here and a lot of things are happening very quickly. Some reports state that he went for the
ladder first and then the trucks. This report that that I believe to be I I'm putting
a little more weight into this report for a couple reasons. This report has them going for the trucks first and then
the ladder second, but it doesn't matter, right? >> Yeah. either or it doesn't matter
because the trucks >> it doesn't matter the order because they're unsuccessful attempts both of
them >> but also it's very strange what why are the trucks not working the they were
making deliveries that day now they're not now they're not working that doesn't make any sense and then on top of that
you have this ladder that's you know like Dawson Creek Joey climbing up that ladder to go into Dawson's window and
mysteriously it's missing and they end up finding it almost I want to say half of a football field to a
football field away when they end up finding the the ladder. >> But the big problem is they're not going
to find the ladder that night. >> No. >> So, and here I've changed my mind, Captain. Pass me some of that eggnog. I
can I can have both. It's Christmas. It's Christmas. Damn it. >> I'll show you where you can put that.
>> We have George. He runs over to the staircase that goes to the second story. It has a landing and on that landing is
a window. So his idea is all right, let's go around to that window to the landing on the staircase and let's
attempt to break that glass. Here's another attempt to try to get to the upstairs of the home to get to the
children that he that everybody has to presume are trapped upstairs due to the fire having blocked the stairs,
>> right? He ends up cutting his arm pretty badly, breaking the glass to this window. Uh the stairs were already
engulfed in flames at this point and he could not enter the home through this window. And this is that part of the
story where it has him looking for the ladder. The family has always stood by this statement that the ladder was
always on the side of the house, but for whatever mysterious reason on this night
when they seemed to need it the most, they could not find it. It was not there in its standard location. So, Marian,
she runs to the home of the neighbors, this is Mr. and Mrs. Davis, to call the fire department, but they were unable to
reach the operator. All right. Now much to do has been made about the operator and other not being able to get a hold
of certain emergency services. We have to think about and keep in mind what the phone systems were like back in 1945.
Number one, and number two, keep in mind that it is in the middle of the night, Christmas Eve, going into Christmas
morning. I'm sorry, but it's and and and it's unfortunate for this situation that we couldn't get help out
to the Solder family home faster, but you know, people are people are partying, people are drinking, people
are sleeping one off. This is this is really a bad bad night for something to go horribly wrong.
>> I believe the fire department's like what 2.5 miles or something like that away from the family home. While this is
all going on or or just before the family starts to flee the home, we have some people that are driving
past the the home. So, the home is right near Route 21. So, the report is that they're driving
past the home. I'm assuming they're on this Route 21. They say around, this is Mr. Thomas Smith. Mr. Thomas W. Smith
says that around 1:00 a.m. he was driving past this location while on his way home from work. He says he saw the
fire. This Thomas Smith must be like Bob Cratchet working for Ebenezer here. He's
got to work till till midnight or so on on Christmas Eve. Well, he's really seeing a mistress, but he couldn't tell
the papers that >> he decides, hey, like >> he was seeing his second family and [laughter] he had to tell them that he
had to work all late on Christmas. >> He says he sees this house fire, so he decides he's got to report this. He goes
to this beer place known as Crass's Park, operated by Jeff Atkins and Lonnie Johnson. This is where he tried to call
the fire department, but he was told the phone was out of order. He was going to
go in there, hey, I need to call the fire department. Jeff Atkins and Lonnie Johnson, one or both of them informed
this man that the phone is out of order. So, no luck there. Mr. Smith then drove
to Fagatville and finally succeeded in reaching the fire chief. Now, I I do want to point
out you you could be absolutely accurate on the distance between the home and the
fire department. One thing to note here is that the solder home, while it's regularly reported that it's Fagatville,
West Virginia, that's that's not wrong, but but the detailed reports will state that they live just about 2 miles north
of of Fagatville. But when you're talking about emergency services, that's where they're going to be coming from
this Fagatville. So this Mr. Smith, he finally reaches the fire chief. The fire chief is FJ Morris. According to this
report, Smith is told from Morris, from the fire chief that we've already received a call about this fire. Now,
it's alleged that Mr. Smith had to drive to the chief's house rather than the fire department in order to reach him
and that when he arrived the chief was in the middle of a poker game again allegedly,
>> right? >> You probably should say that about your statement about where Mr. Smith was
earlier that night. >> Oh, it was a joke. >> Mr. Smith states that the fire chief
responded, "We know about it." And when asked if he would go to the fire, he stated, "Didn't know." Mr. Smith then
informed him that there could be children trapped in in in this burning house and to which he says Mr. Morris
gave no response. Mr. Smith then returned to the scene of the fire to find the house destroyed. He then went
home went back around 8:00 a.m. about the same time that the fire department to decided to show up.
>> Yeah. So it took him like what over 7 and 1/2 hours. But also, it's like shows
you how bad people can have a gambling problem. Are you going to show up to the fire? Don't know. Well, we'll see if I'm
still in the poker game or not. After the visit from Mr. Smith, Lonnie Johnson, and his business partner Jeff Atkins,
handful of other people. So, we have Peggy Price, Virginia Buckland, Everett Buckland, Lester Cook, and an unnamed
taxi driver. They arrive at the scene of this fire. They stated to officials that they did
not see any children appear at any windows. It was later learned that the phone call came from one of these women
that were at the bar and the women claimed that it was just a wrong number. Okay, so a little clarity here. We're
talking about with this FJ Morris, the fire chief, saying, "We already received a call about it." They're not talking
about that call. One of the persons in this group is saying that I was the one that accidentally called the solder home
and it was in fact a wrong number according to this person that I was trying to reach somebody somebody else.
The family remembers that the Christmas lights inside the house were still on even
while the fire was burning. >> Right. The solders were forced to wait inside the cab of the truck to escape
the bitter cold that night while waiting for the fire department to arrive. So, they're essentially left there stranded
almost, right? And you you don't want to leave because half of your family still
inside the home. You have trucks that are not starting and you're hoping and praying that the fire department gets
there ASAP. There's different reports, but a lot of people say that this fire only lasted 45
minutes to an hour. So, but it was still probably smoldering is what I'm guessing
by the time the the fire department took their good old time getting there. >> Yes, you're exactly right. So, according
to the newspapers published just days after the fire, the fire department arrived around 9:00 a.m. Again, we've
already reported that FJ Morris later would state that they arrived at 8:00 a.m. But regardless, exactly what the
captain is pointing out, by the time the fire department is on the scene, the entire house had been burned and reduced
to ashes. When he arrived, the fire chief stated that the basement was a glowing bed of embers.
And he and his men then laid a line of hose to stream some water and try to cool everything down. Right? You're
trying to cool everything down. Once they're able to do this, we have nine persons that are going to search through
the rubble. Okay? So the searchers of this debris of the house that once was will be FJ Morris the fire chief, John
Solder, Emanuel Moles, Bill Bickford, Jimmy Arthur, Ted Solder, Arthur Moles, Carl Bragg, and Garnett Arthur. So two
of the Solder family members are involved in this search. Left in ruins was the house. And in the ruins of the
house, we find a stove, charred utensils, fruit jars, bedsp springs, toys, and two steel drums.
>> Yeah. I think the point here that people try to make when they're they're talking
about what's left is that not everything was disintegrated. >> Yes. And that's going to come into play
very importantly. I believe with the later >> findings and statements by >> the >> for a lack of a better term, let's say
experts. >> Yeah. Me and you are not uh the biggest fan of fire experts. >> No. No. And and I think it be it comes
from some of the cases that we've covered and then the changing diagnosis of the fire and how it was started,
where it was started, if it was arson, if it wasn't. >> I mean, we're very pro first responders.
We're very pro firefighters just as far as the investigation goes. I think it's also too like would be a very
difficult thing to try to study because you have so many factors. >> I think that they get it right 90ome% of
the time. But I think what you're spot on about here, my friend, is that sometimes [ __ ] just goes down weird or
happens the way that it's not supposed to. And it's really difficult to try to make heads or tails of stuff sometimes.
And fire is its own living breathing thing, right? >> It's fire breathing. >> So there you go.
>> Yeah. But this is a weird case though because one, it's so old and so I think some of
the information is kind of the telephone effect and then because it is so old and
so mysterious, so many people have covered it. So then, you know, some of that story becomes part of the story
becomes other people's speculation. And it's just so bizarre. I mean, think about this. We have some of the family
members up, some of the family members not up. We have two locations, the upstairs downstairs. So, we have a
separation of these individuals. But then we have things that don't make sense. We have this bump in the night.
We have this mysterious phone call. Is that a part of something? We have these threats happening. Then when the fire
starts, okay, nobody sees these children. Are they even in the house? Where's the ladder? Why aren't the
trucks working? Why does it take the fire department so long to get there? It there's so many bizarre things already.
>> Yes. And I think that, you know, we we talk about how each different layer can complicate a
situation. I think that unfortunately something that we all many many of us look forward to Christmas I think
complicates the situation even more. >> Yeah. >> Unfortunately >> I think because it's Christmas this is
one of the reasons why we still talk about it. Yes. It's very bizarre, very tragic. And then you want to know what
happened to these children. Are are they dead? Did they die in the fire or are they missing? In 1945
there was over 10,000 deaths and and that's a estimated number because they don't have the the data that you know it
wasn't probably that data was probably not scrutinized over as much as it is now. So we probably have more exact
numbers today. But that's a lot of deaths by fires. But this one, you know, is very uh mysterious. Well, and as said
in the trailer, there was 11 deaths and fires uh that night, that exact night. So,
>> when you have the the fire chief playing poker, not giving a [ __ ] if he shows up
or not, I mean, that's a real douchebag. Are you going to go to the fire? Eh, maybe. Don't know. So, also found in the
rubble, we have damaged and undamaged coins, US currency, and we have what is most oftentimes
reported to be a dictionary. This report states part of a phone book was also uh
recovered. So, a dictionary or phone book, either way, a a portion of a book was recovered as well. Around 10:00 a.m.
we have Chief Morris who informs the solders that the ruins had been searched as if with a fine tooth comb, but that
no remains of the children were found. Okay, we're at the 10:00 a.m. marker here. I do want to point something out
here. We while while the reports state that the fire department was on scene at 9:00 a.m., the fire chief claims they
were there at 8:00 a.m. What we do know is the state troopers were at the scene at 900 a.m. and when
they arrived, the fire department is already there. I wanted to throw that into the mix as well. Now, we're at
10:00 a.m. This is when the chief informs them that no remains of your children are found. And he says to
the solders, "You, let's you're going to want to grab some dirt, scoop up some dirt, place it in a box,
and bury it and hold a funeral. Your children have passed in the fire. They were taken by the fire,
>> which I think is a very odd thing to say when you have no evidence of it." So,
I'm I'm I try to go through this in a linear fashion, but it gets a little bit difficult to worry that we may miss
something because as the captain has pointed out, 80 years, this Christmas marks 80 years since this horrible
tragedy. I want to make sure that we don't leave anything out because there's been a lot that has happened since the
Christmas and 45 to date regarding this case and right it we get reminded about this
case every Christmas but the other part of the reason why this case is continue to fascinate people it's the sheer
mystery of it and you have you have folks on either side and you also have things that are suggestive of that,
well, maybe the kids weren't even there when the fire started, the the missing kids, and then you have things that are
suggestive that yes, they were >> and they they did they were taken by the fire. So I before we move on too much
further, I do want to state that 3 years later in 1948, Chief Morris admits to a
newspaper that he actually did not do what he would call a thorough search of the ruins on that day. Instead, he said
he only searched where the beds could have been. and he says he stopped short of a
thorough search because George ordered him to th this is one example in my opinion of folks pointing the finger at
each other blaming one another. We do have other situations where people in official capacity do blame George for
for why this remains a mystery still to this day. >> Yeah. But we we see that in many cases.
I mean, people blame John Ramsay for the for the killing of his daughter not being solved. I think there's evidence
that George did a lot to try to figure out what happened. And and also like, okay, they searched one time, but I
guarantee you other people, whether it's family members or just nosy individuals, went
through that rubble as well. And [clears throat] like you said, 80 years later, where's
the evidence that they were in the fire? >> Yes. And we should also point out here
um some some of these time markers, right? Because if in regards to the search, depending on what time the fire
department actually did show up. What we do know is at 10:00 a.m. is when they stopped the search. So if they were
there at 9, that's one hour. If they were there at 8, that gave them a max of two hours to search, minus also however
long it took to cool down the embers to the point where they could start going through them.
>> Right. >> To me, that's an inadequate search regardless. And it sounds like the chief
eventually admits to that and agrees to my statement. >> Well, and I I believe that they would
have found something. And I think when you look at even individuals being cremated and you talk to people that do
that, there's normally fragments or even more than fragments left from bone or teeth or whatever. And we see none of
that. So, and and that would be temperatures up into like I believe like over 2,000°.
So, I don't know if the fire ever got that hot, but again, I don't know if it's an exact science because where
where did the fire start? I don't know. Why did the fire start? I don't know. The Faget County prosecutor, Faget
County Prosecuting attorney Carl Vickers was informed by Chief Morris that no remains were found. So, he decided to
hold a coroner's inquest at the location. So on site at the fire they're going to hold this inquest. Back then
inquests were normally held at the scene of a crime or from my understanding at the scene of a crime or incident where
the conclusions were likely to be obvious. So the coroner's inquest consisted of six persons. Five of which
we should point out have personal ties to this Fenzo Jonatello. Now the members were as follows. One his
cousin and business partner CG Jonatello who was named the foreman of this jury right the jury for this inquest. We also
have fire chief FJ Morris who is a friend and bookkeeper for Jonatello. We have Floyd C. Shuck,
bank bookkeeper for Jonatello. JD Schultz, member of several clubs with the Jonatello and other members, as well
as president of CG Jonatello's company, which is Fagatville Savings and Loan, County Clerk Lacy Neely, and Jackson
Theodore Jennings, who was an employee of George Sauders. The jury quickly returned the verdict that the children
had perished in the fire due to smoke suffocation and that the fire was accidental. A second inquest was held
the following day, December 26, where Clinetti Jonatella reported that quote, "No parts of the five missing children
were found in the debris of the fire." End quote. The verdict of accidental fire was based on the allegation that
large quantities of oil, gas, and coal were kept in the basement of the home, but George Solder insisted that none of
that was kept in the basement. The police report only mentions John Solder, stating that one or two truck motors
were currently being stored in the basement at that time. Prosecuting attorney Vickers was quoted as saying to
a local newspaper that the that was published on December 26, 1945 that there was nothing left to investigate.
It was complete destruction and the jury rendered I think the only possible verdict under the circumstances. He told
another newspaper, "So complete was the destruction that any investigation as to
the cause was impossible and the only deduction which could be made is that the fire was caused by a short circuit."
Let's let that ruminate for a minute, right? Cuz that seems a little talking out of both sides of your face, right?
It's a strange statement to say that the damage was so bad, the level of destruction here is so incredible that
it was impossible, his word, impossible to determine the cause of the fire, but then to claim it was caused by defective
wiring almost in the same sentence. >> Yeah, it's very bizarre. And then again, it's like you wonder if these
individuals heard anything about the the insurance agent or did any of them hear
about the the the handyman and then just go, "Well, they're not talking about that on on the day of the
fire or the day after." I mean, you have George in the hospital, you have the family gone. Uh, and we'll get into that
as we continue on. >> Yeah. Or is it just well that's the simplest answer? >> Well, that that's I think I think that
could be the case, right? This just may be a case of civilians with no real understanding of the situation coming to
a reasonable explanation that makes sense to them in the moment based on life experiences. I mean, you have Yes,
you do have the the fire chief. I would like to know the how the the workings of
the fire department back in 1945 in Fagatville. Was this uh was this a paid position? Are these voluntary
right >> positions? What's his experience beyond that? Because we one thing we mentioned when
we went through the roster of our jury for this inquest, he's he's a bookkeeper. He also works as a
bookkeeper. though is this is this hey I'm a bookkeeper but I also when I'm available I help people I attempt to
help people or or or at least put out fires. The other thing though too is you can look at this same situation, right?
A jury of six at this inquest and go, "Well, is this just civilians with no real understanding coming
to what they believed at the time was a reasonable explanation for what happened
or do we have one or two men leading the group down the wrong road?" >> Yeah. And cuz how many times have you
been a part of a situation where there's not a bunch of bright bulbs in the room
and they just kind of default to whoever is leading the conversation. >> Every time I have my fantasy football
draft, [laughter] >> of course, the Solders did not agree with the findings. They didn't agree
with the inquest and their ruling. John Solder told the police and newspaper that they believe the fire was
intentionally set, that it was arson. As far as what's going on at the scene, after we
talked about the search, some of the members, the older solder boys were involved in the search of the rubble.
Now, it's believed that George and Jenny, mom and dad, remained at the scene until the majority of the search
had been done. But at some point, George, he has to leave. Remember, we talked about his injury. He had to be
sent to the hospital due to this large gash >> he had on his arm uh from breaking that window. And on top
of that, that he's like inconsolable. He's he's once he's released from the hospital, he was placed on bed rest due
to shock, doctor's orders. That morning, Jenny, she takes the remaining children, minus John, to a
family member's house in Smithers. Her her parents and extended family, remember we mentioned that she had five
siblings. Most of them are still living in Smithers. So, they go there so they have somewhere to stay. Dad's in the
hospital and John is left at the scene and it's stated that he stayed behind until
officials decided to leave the scene. So, he's there until until the officials leave the scene. A lot of
times when a case is covered by a lot of people, that doesn't interest me as much. I want
to hear about the case I've never heard about. But this case is very fascinating
because you could sum up the case in probably a 10-minute conversation, but you'd leave the individual wanting to
know more. But it's also a case that if you dissect every weird, bizarre scenario within this case, you could
talk about this case for a month and not get tired of it. The basement captain of
the home was filled in on December 29th, 1945. This by Jenny's brother, Jimmy Cypriyani, using fill dirt and a
bulldozer. The reason for this is that the parents, George and Jenny, decided to fill in the
basement because they did not want what they believe to be their children's final resting place to be trampled on.
So, the basement was filled and then turned into a memorial garden or or going to be turned into a memorial
garden for the children. On December 30th, 1945, despite no remains being found, death certificates
were made for the children, citing the cause of death as smoke suffocation. So, let's take a moment here to
recognize that regardless of what everyone or we end up thinking happened here, we we've got five little kids,
five of the 10 solder children gone. Gone are Maurice age 14, Martha 12, Lewis 9, Jenny 8, and Betty 5. That were
they killed in a horrific Christmas fire or were they stolen away before the flames took the house? That has been the
question for 80 years now. This Christmas, as said, will be the 80year anniversary, a sad one, of that tragic
day. While this absolutely devastated the Solder family, especially the the parents, and we have seen tragedies
destroy so many families in these stories that we cover. We have seen murders lead to divorce, separation,
families torn apart. But that does not seem to be the case here. Somehow through all of this, the solders
remained strong. They remained tight. They became hypervigilant and determined, determined to get answers.
George and Jenny were somehow convinced that if they fought long and hard enough, if they spent every dime they
had, if they spent every sleepless night and waking moment, that they would find
their children. And they were willing to go to the ends of the earth to do so. [music]
Thank you so much for joining us here in the garage. Stick around for part two of
this bizarre, mysterious case. Until then, >> a toast and a cheers. And be good, be
kind, and don't move. >> [music] [music] [music] [music] >> Having the right people in your corner
for life's biggest milestones makes all the difference. Like a friend who's there when you're house hunting or
checking out a new ride, [music] State Farm is there, too, helping you choose the coverage you need. With a State Farm
agent, you know someone is there to help you along the way. [music] And with so many coverage options, it's nice knowing
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Missing Sodder Children /// Part 1 /// 892

Part 1 of 2

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In Fayetteville, West Virginia there once stood two billboards. Billboards announcing a mystery and asking for help. These billboards were up for decades, seeking answers. Passing motorists could easily see either as they wizzed by in their automobiles. This is the information from one of them. At the top was a simple announcement - “After thirty years it is not too late to investigate” Below this text, the billboard featured pictures of each of the five missing Sodder children - Maurice, Martha, Louis, Jennie, and Betty.

The text below the pictures read…

On Christmas Eve 1945 our home was set afire and five of our children ages 5 through 14 kidnapped. The officials blamed defective wiring although lights were still burning after the fire started. The official report stated that the children died in the fire. However no bones were found in the residue and there was no smell of burning flesh during or after the fire. What was the motive of the law officers involved? What did they have to gain by making us suffer all of these years of injustice? Why did they force us to accept those lies?

Anyone with any information is asked to email 5sodderkids@gmail.com

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Brief Summary

The Solder children vanished in a 1945 Christmas fire, sparking a decades-long mystery of potential kidnapping and unresolved disappearance.

Key points

The Solder Children Disappearance. In 1945, five Solder children vanished after their house burned down, sparking a mystery.
BetterHelp: Start a new tradition. This December, take care of yourself with BetterHelp's therapy services. "Start a new tradition by taking care of you."
Chewy's Holiday Savings. Chewy offers huge savings this holiday season for all your pet needs. "I absolutely love Chewy."
Simply Safe: Proactive Security. Simply Safe's security system stops crimes before they start with AI-powered cameras and live agents. "There's no long-term contracts or hidden fees with Simply Safe."
The Solder Family Fire. On Christmas Eve, the Solder family's home catches fire, leaving half the family outside. "We have a family divided."
Fire Department's Delayed Response. The fire department arrives hours late, leaving the Solder family in despair. "It took him over 7 and 1/2 hours."

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

This unsolved mystery is often referred to as the Solder Children disappearance.

7:10WatchDec 24, 2025

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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