Missing Hoggle Kids: Goshen Recreational Area Focus of Weekend Search

GERMANTOWN, MD — The father of missing children Sarah and Jacob Hoggle has organized a search for the youngsters – missing for 18 months – this weekend at a Germantown park.

Troy Turner said in an email that based on recently acquired information, volunteers will search Goshen Recreational Park.

The search is planned for Saturday, April 2, and Sunday, April 3. Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. at 22330 Wildcat Road, Germantown, directly across from Butler’s Orchard.

The 253-acre park that is largely undeveloped adjoins Great Seneca Park along Davis Mill Road.

Volunteers are asked to wear bright-colored clothing and dress appropriately for the weather and terrain. Searchers must be 18 or older with a valid form of identification.

Find updates on the FindSarahFindJacob Facebook page.

Turner said the park was picked for a search because he does not believe it has been checked by police or volunteers.

Turner continues to hunt for signs of his daughter, Sarah, now 5, and son Jacob, 3. Authorities accuse the siblings’ mother of taking them from the family home in September 2014, and suspect she killed the youngsters.

Catherine Hoggle of Clarksburg 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, other than to say they are safe.

She is being held at Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center after judges have ruled several times that she is not competent to stand trial on charges that she is responsible for the children’s disappearance.

SEE ALSO:

• 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

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.

Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy won a request for an April 25 hearing exploring Catherine Hoggle’s mental state. While doctors say she is not capable of facing criminal action, her mother, Lindsey Hoggle, and Turner say they believe Catherine understands her situation based on their conversations with her.

McCarthy said that at the upcoming April hearing, Hoggle could be questioned in court about her competency since she has been receiving treatment. He wants to challenge the doctors at the state hospital and hire an independent doctor to evaluate Hoggle’s competency.

Turner’s supporters posted on Facebook asking that people gather peacefully outside of the Montgomery County courthouse during the April 25 competency hearing to show support for Sarah and Jacob.

“Thank you for the amazing support we have received so far, but this isn't over until those babies are home,” the family wrote on Facebook. “Let’s show the justice system that this isn't just a family wanting answers. It is an entire community.”

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 child to a day-care 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.

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