GERMANTOWN, Md. — Troy Turner had to do things differently when his two youngest children, Jacob and Sarah Hoggle, went missing in September.
He took two months off work to search for them. He’s had to figure out how to make it through Sarah’s fourth birthday while coordinating searches for her and Jacob, 2. He’s had to figure out how to make the holidays normal for his six-year-old son, who waits for his younger siblings to come home.
All this while the investigation into Jacob and Sarah’s disappearance has stalled. Their mother, Catherine Hoggle, has been charged, but she refuses to disclose Jacob and Sarah’s location.
In a recent court appearance, Hoggle maintained the children are alive and well. Police weren’t so optimistic early in the investigation.
On Sunday, the family held an event at the Chick Fil-A in Germantown, Maryland, where supporters arrived with gifts for Turner’s six-year-old. People like Oliver Taylor, 5, whose father — a private investigator — has donated his time to help Turner and the Hoggle family find Jacob and Sarah.
Oliver gave a present to Turner’s son because he wanted to make the holidays brighter for the family: “Because someone will be lonely if they have nobody to play with.”
Lindsey Hoggle, Sarah and Jacob’s grandmother, hopes enough money can be raised so Turner can take more time off work. “Working full time and having to do this in the off hours is very frustrating,” Hoggle says. “I mean, you want to spend every single waking moment on these children.”
Family friends have asked the public to help fund the search at findsarahfindjacob.com. Money is needed to cover the cost of making fliers, printing posters, coordinating future searches and working with investigators. The group hopes to raise $10,000 to keep the search going.
Anyone with information about the case should call Montgomery County Police at “911” or 301-279-8000.
WTOP’s Kate Ryan contributed to this report.
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