Missing Hoggle Kids: Mother Returns To Court Thursday

ROCKVILLE, MD — Catherine Hoggle, the 30-year-old mother of missing children Sarah and Jacob, is due back in a Rockville district courtroom for a status hearing Thursday. Since her 2014 arrest, Hoggle has been treated for mental health issues at a state psychiatric hospital in Jessup, My Montgomery Community Media reports

Catherine was the last person to see the children in September 2014 and has refused to say what became of them, only that Sarah, now 6, and son Jacob, now 5, are safe with someone.

Jacob was last seen with his mother on Sept. 7, 2014, in Darnestown or Clarksburg; Sarah was last seen with Catherine 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. On Sept. 12, 2014, Catherine was found and arrested in Germantown.

Catherine faces charges of neglect, obstruction and hindering in the case. Until she can face trial, the judge will not allow her to be interrogated about the fate of the children.

Jacob's 5th birthday was July 3. Troy Turner, the father of the children, posted a "happy birthday" message to Jacob on Facebook, saying: "Happy birthday my beautiful baby boy. I feel like this post should be about how big he's gotten and all of the things that we're doing today. However my babies still aren't home. Instead of celebrating a birthday, I'm just praying they're alive," Montgomery Community Media reports.

Lindsey Hoggle, Catherine's mother, posted to Facebook: "Today is Jacob's 5th birthday. If he has continued on his growth curve, he is ~45 inches (3 feet, 9 inches) tall and weighs approximately 44 pounds (CDC growth charts). This video is from his second birthday - where he says he's five. #Nevergiveup #FindSarahFindJacob #HOPE."

SEE ALSO:

• Missing Hoggle Kids: Mother To Remain In Mental Hospital
• Missing Hoggle Kids: 2 Years With No Answers
• Dad of Missing Hoggle Kids: 'They Deserve to Come Home'

In April, doctors at Clifton T. Perkins State Hospital say the schizophrenic mom is still not mentally competent to stand trial for the September 2014 disappearance of her two youngest children.

Turner, the missing children's father and Hoggle's longtime partner, has maintained that Catherine is acting a part so she can avoid trial on charges linked to the children's disappearance. On social media Turner has said that Catherine tried at least eight times last year to escape from her maximum security facility, either by tying bedsheets together or taking a security card from staffers.

The FindSarahFindJacob Facebook page maintained by Turner's supporters asked followers to share the story and try to get media sites to cover the disappearance. "We agree with you that it is beyond ridiculous that she's not bound to tell us anything and that the children have not had a voice," the page said to one commenter last week.

The Montgomery County State's Attorney's Office first filed misdemeanor charges against Catherine Hoggle in September 2014. The law says that an accused person must go to trial with three years, so the state must file news charges by fall 2017 or she could be released, reports WJLA.

Turner has implored the public to sign an online petition launched to spur public awareness about the youngsters as a way to bring them home. To date, 2,400 signatures have been placed on the petition. Turner asks that the judge change earlier rulings and let police question the mentally ill mother about what she did with young Sarah and Jacob.

"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."

Judges will not let police question Catherine about what she did with her children since she has been deemed incompetent.

“I am disappointed that the focus is not on Sarah and Jacob – on looking for them – regardless of any interview with my daughter,” Catherine’s mother, Lindsey Hoggle, told Patch in September 2016 on the two-year anniversary of her grandchildren's disappearance. “I believe they are with someone, as she has indicated.”

Hoggle is a schizophrenic who reportedly refused to stay on her medication. 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.

Police interviewed Catherine for more than 10 hours when she was first found, her mother said. While Lindsey spoke with her daughter several times a day for part of 2015, she has not seen her since Catherine fled home with the children.

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.

»Photo of Catherine Hoggle via MCM, photos of Sarah and Jacob Hoggle, courtesy of the FindSarahFindJacob Facebook page