Missing Hoggle Kids: Dad's Princess Turns 5

Sarah Hoggle’s fifth birthday is nothing to celebrate, her haunted father says.

While the Montgomery County girl turns 5 years old on Friday, Nov. 20, the date is another sad milestone for her dad, Troy Turner.

His “princess,” Sarah, and happy, obedient son, Jacob, 3, aren’t with him. And family members are no closing to knowing the children’s fate more than a year after their mentally ill mother, Catherine Hoggle, took them.

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.

Their father, Hoggle’s common-law husband, says the children were last at his Clarksburg apartment with their mother; she refuses to tell Turner, her mother, or Montgomery County Police, where the children are.

The mother is a schizophrenic who reportedly refused to stay on her medication; she remains in the Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center. Hoggle says the children are safe, but has not given any information on their whereabouts. Her mother says Catherine wanted to escape from a possible involuntary commitment to such a facility, so she took the children as part of that plan to leave.

SEE ALSO:

• Missing Hoggle Kids: Mom Again Found Not Competent to Stand Trial
• Missing Hoggle Kids: Hope Alive One Year After Disappearance

Catherine Hoggle is charged with child neglect in the disappearance of her two children and is scheduled to appear in court again Nov. 23. The troubled mother has so far been deemed incompetent to stand trial. However, medical professionals say she could improve to a point where she could stand trial.

Turner plans to attend Monday’s court hearing, and is exploring whether he should have an attorney there to represent his missing children, reports Montgomery Community Media. He hopes a judge finds Catherine competent so her case can proceed.

That, he said, would be something to be thankful for this holiday season as he faces another day without them.

“The worst days of my life would be Nov. 20 and July 3, where it’s their birthdays, and they’re not there,” he told the county media outlet in September.

Related Stories:

• Missing Hoggle Kids Are Not Dead: Family
• Massive Search for Missing Hoggle Kids Yields Nothing
• Gone Without a Trace: Hoggle Siblings Missing for 6 Months

Family Asks for Tips

Turner’s older son continues to be positive about his sibling’s return home, as are other family members, who remain steadfast in their belief that the children are alive, while police are not optimistic about the youngsters’ fate.

The children’s grandmother, Lindsey Hoggle, posted Thursday on the FindSarahFindJacob Facebook page, “Sweet baby Sarah - will be 5 years old tomorrow. We appeal to anyone who has seen anything to share tips.”

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.

Catherine Hoggle’s attorney told WTOP she suffers from a mental illness so severe that she may not remember what happened to her children.

While he believes his children are alive, Turner wants to know if they are dead. At this point, the youngsters have likely been passed around to multiple locations, their father says, and even their mother would be unable to tell authorities where the children are.

On Facebook, Lindsey Hoggle has thanked people for sharing information about the search for the youngsters, and asked that readers continue to spread the word.

More Court Appearances

Prosecutors said in May they might pursue additional charges against Hoggle. Montgomery County Police believe the children are dead, while the extended Hoggle family disagrees.

In a Facebook post early in June, the Hoggle family said: “Sarah (age 4) and Jacob (age 2 1/2) have been missing 9 months today. Their mother continues to state that they are with someone. There is no evidence or proof to believe otherwise - so we will continue to consider them MISSING. Please keep in mind they may look differently and be anywhere in or outside of Maryland. Thank you for continued diligence! We will find them.”

»Photos of Sarah and Jacob Hoggle with their mother, Lindsey Hoggle, courtesy of the FindSarahFindJacob Facebook page