Missing Hoggle Kids: Hope Alive One Year After Disappearance

Even worse than the agonizing dreams Troy Turner has had over the past year of his children being held by strangers is the moment after he wakes up from a restless sleep.

At that point Turner realizes, yet again, that his “princess,” Sarah, 4, and happy, obedient son, Jacob, 3, aren’t with him. And family members are no closing to knowing the children’s fate one 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 last dream that I really remember that I had … whoever they were with…I could see my kids being upset and they were telling my kids that they were with them because their daddy didn’t love them and didn’t want them any more,” Turner told Montgomery Community Media.

Even more gut-wrenching for Turner than the dreams that rob him of sleep are the youngsters’ birthdays and holidays.

“The worst days of my life would be Nov. 20 and July 3, where it’s their birthdays, and they’re not there,” he said.

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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 Tuesday on the FindSarahFindJacob Facebook page, “We remain hopeful...”

Family Asks for 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.

“Even if she were able to, no defendant can be forced to give evidence against themselves,” David Felsen says.

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 thanked people for sharing information about the search for the youngsters, and asked that readers continue to spread the word.

More Court Appearances

Catherine Hoggle – a schizophrenic who reportedly refused to stay on her medication -- remains in the Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center. She 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.

Catherine Hoggle is charged with child neglect in the disappearance of her two children and is schedule to appear in court again Sept. 18. 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.

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.”

The family told Patch no new searches were made in the county over the weekend for the children.

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