A DRAMATIC twist in the mysterious disappearance of toddler siblings 11 years ago has been revealed.
Catherine Hoggle – the mom of Jacob, 2, and Sarah, 3 – was reportedly the last person seen with them after they were to be “dropped at daycare.”
Sarah and Jacob Hoggle remain missing, and the circumstances surrounding their tragic disappearance in 2014 remain unsolved, said officials.
The toddlers were last seen in the care of their mother on Labor Day weekend 2014, according to a Missing Kids blog.
The Maryland woman has a long history of severe mental illness, reported the Associated Press (AP). Hoggle still maintains her children are “safe.”
She was released from a state-run maximum security psychiatric hospital just last month.
But, in a shocking twist, Hoggle was then re-arrested and charged with killing both children.
Hoggle, 38, is now in custody after a Montgomery County grand jury indicted her on two counts of murder in connection with their disappearance.
Sarah and Jacob Hoggle were reported missing in September 2014, according to a statement from the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office.
It added, “They were last seen on September 7, 2014, and their mother was reportedly the last person seen with them.”
Hoggle also went missing around the same time.
The children’s father, Troy Turner, reported them all missing.
Hoggle was found days later, walking in a nearby town.
Police said she refused to tell them where the children were.
She was initially arrested and charged with neglect and abduction, both misdemeanors.
The mom was then sent to the state-run psychiatric hospital for treatment.
In 2017, she was indicted on murder charges.
But, a judge ruled Hoggle was incompetent to stand trial and imposed continuing court-ordered hospital treatment.
Eight years later, she was discharged from the Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center in Jessup on July 23.
Find them: $10,000 reward for missing siblings
Sarah and Jacob Hoggle remain missing in Maryland
Sarah Hoggle, 3, and Jacob Hoggle, 2, were reported missing 11 years ago.
They were last seen on September 7, 2014.
A reward of up to $10,000 is being offered for information that leads to the arrest of the suspect.
If you have any information, please visit the Crime Solvers of Montgomery County, MD website at www.crimesolversmcmd.org and select the “www.p3tips.com” link found at the top of the page.
Or call 1-866-411-8477.
Currently, Montgomery County Police, along with several partner organizations, remain actively involved in comprehensive search efforts to locate the children, yet they have had no success so far.
Their father “has never given up hope in bringing his children home,” reported The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC).
Last year, the nonprofit organization featured updated age-progressed images of the siblings on its blog to show how they might appear now, supporting this ongoing search effort.
Hoggle had reportedly told Turner that she had dropped Sarah and Jacob off at daycare, per the NCMEC.
However, when it was time to pick them up, their dad said she couldn’t tell him where they were.
The NCMEC stated, “After many hours spent driving around various locations looking for Sarah and Jacob, Troy mentioned that he and Catherine took a break at a fast-food eatery [a Chik-fil-A].
“While he waited in the car, Catherine went inside, then slipped out the back door.
“Troy said when he realized she had taken off, he called police and reported all three of them missing: Catherine, Sarah, and Jacob.
“Several days later Catherine was found wandering the streets of Germantown, Maryland. Police arrested her.
“The children were nowhere to be found and are still missing today.”
RE-ARRESTED
Following her release from hospital, Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy convened a grand jury.
The Montgomery County Department of Police then re-arrested the mom last Friday.
She is currently being held at the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit in Rockville, according to cops.
Hoggle has been re-indicted on two counts of first-degree murder.
She is scheduled to appear in court this afternoon for a bail review hearing.
FIND KIDS
The kids’ father told the NCMEC last year, “For the past 10 years the focus has been on her and whether she was competent to stand trial.”
He pleaded, “I want the focus to be put back on finding my children. It is definitely time to have some movement in the case.
“If someone knows anything, if anyone saw anything, it’s time to come forward. It’s past time.”
MENTAL ILLNESS
Turner previously claimed to the AP that Hoggle was faking incompetency.
John Bischoff, who is in charge of the Missing Children Division at the organization, promised, “We will persist in supplying every available resource to law enforcement and the family until Sarah and Jacob are located.”
Hoggle’s attorney, David Felsen, has long said she suffers from severe mental illness.
She has a history of schizophrenia and was treated with antipsychotic medications after her arrest.
“Ms. Hoggle was held for eight years having been judicially determined to be incompetent,” Felsen told Fox News affiliate WDCA.
“Every doctor found that, every doctor agreed with that. Nothing’s changed.
However, according to the Daily Mail, the children’s grandmother, Lindsey Hoggle, Catherine’s mother, stated in an affidavit: “Catherine fully comprehends the situation.”
