WASHINGTON — Volunteers were amassing for an on-foot search for missing local children Sarah and Jacob Hoggle on Saturday morning and will continue on Sunday,begining 8:30 a.m., if they come up short.
WTOP spoke with the sister of Catherine Hoggle,27, who is in jail and charged with two counts of child neglect and obstruction. Reportedly suffering from schizophrenia, Hoggle has so far refused to tell police where her two children are. Police said Monday they believe the children are dead and were building a homicide case against her.
Her sister Carly Hoggle, who was manning a table at the staging area Saturday, told WTOP that her sister is “much more than mental illness.”
“She is kind, she is caring, she is an incredible mother — she loves her kids so much.”
The search is open to the public. Volunteers met Saturday morning in the parking lot of Seneca Valley High School in Germantown, Maryland. Volunteers, who came from all over the community, were given directions on how to focus search efforts, including flyer distribution, and hiking local trails. They were also given a specific area to cover with other volunteers.
Germantown resident Allan Smith came to the search with his dog Kallie Saturday morning. “We’re here to help the father find his young ones and that is what my dog and I are here to do, and we’ll do our very best.”
Police have already searched more than 14,000 acres of the area and recently expanded the search to now include Germantown and vicinity. The community search was billed as a group effort to supplement the work the Montgomery County Police Department is already conducting to find the Hoggle children and bring them home to their family, according to Montgomery County Police.
Both Jacob and Sarah have been missing from the Gaithersburg area for almost two weeks. They were last seen with their mother, Catherine Hoggle, who was detained last Friday night and has been in police custody since. Catherine Hoggle is now being charged in the disappearance of her two children.
Sarah is described as a biracial female, 3’6″ tall, weighing 40 pounds, with brown eyes and medium length brown hair. Jacob Hoggle is described as a biracial male, 3’0″ tall, weighing 25 pounds, with brown eyes and a curly, blond Afro hairstyle.
Any volunteer is asked to practice safety measures while at this event including:
- Wear proper gear (for hikers that means boots, pants, hats, bright colors) and for other search volunteers are asked to wear sneakers or comfortable walking shoes).
- Stay hydrated
- Ensure personal safety while volunteering by bringing a cell phone.
There is a cash reward for information leading directly to the safe return of Sarah and Jacob. For more information on the search and donations for Sarah and Jacob Hoggle, the public can visit an online site or the community Faceb ook page that have been set up to help the seach.
WTOP’s Jamie Forzato contributed to this report
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