Christmas Eve 1945. Everything was merry and bright in the town of Fayetteville, West Virginia, families and children anticipating the coming days of cheerful Christmas get-togethers.

But after a series of bizarre events, at 1 a.m. on Christmas Eve, the Sauter family were met with tragedy.

Their home unexpectedly and mysteriously went up in flames.

Some of the family escaped, but five of their children were never seen again.

Officials ruled they must have perished in the fire,

but others, including the Sotter family, believed that the fire was set deliberately,

and their five children were kidnapped that Christmas Eve.

The circumstances leading up to the fire and what came afterwards have left the public questioning what really happened that night.

It's one of the most puzzling Christmastime mysteries of all time.

I read a super brief summary of the story a few months back.

Wanted to see what the case was all about.

And I initially wondered, where's the mystery here?

It seemed pretty open and shut.

A tragic fire?

But this past week, I decided to look into it a bit more and, oh my goodness, was I mistaken?

This is anything but open and shut.

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Now let's get right into it, shall we?

Christmas Eve, December 24th, 1945 in Fayetteville, West Virginia. George and Jenny Sauter, along with their

nine children, had spent the night at home as usual, looking forward to the days ahead. George

...