Dad of Missing Hoggle Kids: 'They Deserve to Come Home'

ROCKVILLE, MD — A Clarksburg father who hasn't seen his two children for nearly two years has launched an online petition drive to spur public awareness about the youngsters as a way to bring them home. His request is a simple one with a complex legal footing: a Montgomery County judge should change his earlier rulings and let police question the siblings' mentally incompetent mother about what she did with young Sarah and Jacob Hoggle.

Despite nearly two years of treatment at a state mental hospital, Catherine Hoggle, the mother responsible for the September 2014 disappearance of her daughter, Sarah, now 5, and son Jacob, now 4, is still not competent to stand trial.

Judge Eugene Wolfe said in June that medical evaluations indicate that Hoggle remained incompetent to stand trial on charges of neglect, obstruction and hindering in the case. Until Hoggle can face trial, the judge will not allow Montgomery County Police to question her about the fate of the children.

Catherine's rights shouldn't outweigh those of her children, says her longtime partner Troy Turner, the father of Sarah and Jacob.

“I don’t understand how you leave the victims out of the system. My kids have no representation in the courtroom. … There’s really no way to insert them in a case that should be all about them,” he told Montgomery Community Media.

The focus on the two missing children has been lost in the struggle over their mother’s court-mandated commitment, which has stifled investigators, he said.

“The focus is simply bringing my kids home. Whether they’re alive or dead, they deserve to come home, and that’s where the focus needs to remain.”

• Find updates on the FindSarahFindJacobFacebook page.

Hoggle is a schizophrenic who reportedly refused to stay on her medication. While she says the children are safe, she has not shared any information on their whereabouts.

Turner has said in interviews and on social media that Catherine understands her situation based on conversations with her and that she should be questioned in court about the children’s fate.

The Change.org petition Justice for Sarah and Jacob is a way to push things forward and hopefully change the decisions made in the judicial system, he says.

"Sarah and Jacob Hoggle were taken by their mother, Catherine Hoggle, almost two years ago never to be seen again. She remains in an inpatient psychiatric facility where she is protected by patient rights," Turner says on the petition site. "Police and other important officials are unable to question her as to the whereabouts of the children due to Judge Wolfe's order. We are asking this order be lifted so we can finally bring our children home."

So far, the petition has garnered 1,499 signatures.

On the petition, Turner calls Catherine a "criminal who confessed" to the children's abduction.

"I also can't understand why a judge or any human being for that matter would do anything to obstruct their return (dead or alive they deserve to come home). I would like to ask Judge Wolfe...If they were your children would you rule the same way? Would you be so apathetic in your decision making process and keeping everything stagnant while stifling any chance of progress? I'm not sure what he would say, but the reality of it is if they were his kids this would be completely different," Turner wrote. "We are begging the court that this order be lifted so we can get closer to bring my children home."

Her mother, Lindsey Hoggle, believes that Catherine gave the children to someone for safekeeping, worried that she was about to be involuntarily hospitalized for her mental health problems.

"Why do I still ‪#‎HOPE‬ and ‪#‎believe‬ that we will ‪#‎FindSarahFindJacob‬? Because there is no evidence to the contrary - because my daughter says they are out there, amongst other details," Lindsey Hoggle wrote recently on Facebook.

Police and prosecutors accuse the siblings’ mother of taking them from the family home in September 2014 and suspect she killed the youngsters.

In April, Judge Wolfe denied a request by prosecutors to hire a psychiatrist to conduct an independent competency evaluation of Hoggle. While doctors say she is not capable of facing criminal action, her condition could improve. Her mother, Turner, police and prosecutors disagree.

“This is just unacceptable that we continue not to have Catherine competent,” Lindsey Hoggle told reporters after the last court hearing.

Jacob was last seen with his mother on Sept. 7, 2014, in Darnestown or Clarksburg; Sarah was last seen with Hoggle on the morning of Sept. 8, 2014. Catherine’s family says she is paranoid and was making plans to leave the area, so she gave the young children to someone for safekeeping.

Turner’s mother, Debbie Beckward, was in court in June with signs with pictures of her missing grandchildren that read, “Justice for Sarah and Jacob.” She told reporters that she has asked the FBI to get involved in the case.

And while the legal battle goes on, Turner and supporters continue to look for signs of the children. A search in early April of Goshen Recreational Park in Germantown yielded nothing. Turner said Aug. 23 that another search will be done soon. A GoFundMe site has been established to pay for the costs tied to searches.

Wolfe set a new court status hearing for Sept. 27.

SEE ALSO:

• Missing Hoggle Kids: Prosecutor's Case Dealt a Setback
• Missing Hoggle Kids: Is Mom 'Trying to Work System'?
• Missing Hoggle Kids: Mom Again Found Not Competent to Stand Trial
• Missing Hoggle Kids: Hope Alive One Year After Disappearance
• 'Mystery Must End' Says Missing Hoggle Kids' Grandmother

Family members ask anyone in the Clarksburg area who may have seen Sarah and Jacob to message the Facebook page, call or text (301) 549-9044 or submit a tip on the website www.findsarahfindjacob.com. Tips can be made anonymously.

Timeline of Events
On Sept. 7, 2014, Catherine Hoggle borrowed her father’s gray 2012 Nissan Rogue SUV and said she was picking up pizza for Jacob. She returned three hours later without the boy or pizza and told her parents she had left Jacob at a playmate’s house.

On Sept. 8, Hoggle left home with Sarah and told Turner she was taking the girl to a daycare center. That afternoon, when Turner asked about the children’s whereabouts, Hoggle would not tell him where the children were. Both Hoggle and Turner set off for the police station but stopped at a Chick-Fil-A near the Germantown Transit Center where Hoggle left the restaurant without Turner noticing and disappeared.

On Sept. 12, 2014, Hoggle was found and arrested in Germantown.
»Photo of Sarah and Jacob Hoggle, courtesy of the FindSarahFindJacob Facebook page; YouTube video of Troy Turner from Montgomery Community Media