WASHINGTON — Ahead of another holiday without his children, the father of missing children Jacob and Sarah Hoggle is hoping their newly released age-progression images will serve as one more tool for finding them.
“It’s not one of those things that will get easier with time,” Troy Turner said of the loss he feels for his kids, ages 2 and 3 when they disappeared while in their mother’s care in Montgomery County, Maryland, two years ago. The new images of Sarah and Jacob, released by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, are difficult for Turner to see.
“It was a harsh reality of my best case scenario, and their best case scenario is they’ve grown and changed for two years without their dad,” he said. “Whatever has been taken, it’s gone. I can’t go back and relive those times with them or see the changes.”
The images have been criticized for over-aging the children for the time they have been missing. Turner said he can see the center’s reasoning, and hopes people will take the time to examine the renderings, which could provide a needed break in the investigation.
Their mother, Catherine Hoggle, has not revealed what happened to the children who went missing in September 2014. See a timeline of when they went missing and where.
Charged with three misdemeanors, Hoggle is considered not competent to stand trial. Her next competency hearing is in April 2017.
Ahead of a third holiday without Sarah and Jacob, Turner recognizes the low possibility that they are still alive, a reality law enforcement officers have prepared him for. But he cannot let go of the hope he has as their father.
“I have gifts for them every year that, God willing, they’ll come home and receive. You know, we’ll be putting stockings up for them,” he said.
