In this week's edition of "The Missing," we revisit the mysterious disappearance of William "Mike" Hogan, a 31-year-old resident of Shrewsbury, Vermont, who went missing on May 16, 2005.
"Three years ago my son disappeared from Spring Lake Ranch – a residential facility in Shrewsbury," Mike's mother, Sandra Hopkins, said in a telephone interview with Investigation Discovery. "Prior to his arrival there, Mike had been diagnosed with a variety of mental health problems, including OCD. His whole life had fallen apart and he had withdrawn from college because it was too difficult for him to concentrate on his school work. The simplest tasks became extremely difficult and it would often take him an hour just to put on his socks in the morning."
Sandra had hoped that by going to the ranch Mike would be able to get the help that he needed and would learn the skills required to live independently.
The ranch's Web site describes the facility as a licensed, therapeutic community that offers "adults and young adults with psychiatric illness, substance abuse problems, or dual diagnosis an opportunity for recovery through work and community participation. Since 1932, our core belief has been that the process of healing and recovery can best take place in a setting that is supportive and respectful yet does not treat people with mental illness as patients or cases."
Residents at the ranch commonly stay there for about six months and then have the option of moving on to the Aftercare Program, which consists of a transition to a community made up of other former residents, where they continue to receive support and learn daily living skills.
According to Sandra, Mike was having a hard time adjusting to life at the ranch when his supervisors suggested he move on to the Aftercare Program.
"It was difficult," Sandra said. "He had a friend there and his friend had actually brought drugs to the ranch, which is not acceptable. My son had a minor problem with it years ago, so when he found out what his friend had done he told the people in charge. As a result, his friend had to leave the community. My son was very upset about it."
On the day of his disappearance, Mike woke up early but was not feeling well and was hesitant to go to work. He asked a counselor if he could take the day off but she encouraged him to go about his normal routine.
"He worked in the woods for a few hours and then came back for lunch," Sandra said. "He was standing outside the lunchroom smoking and the person he was supposed to relieve asked him what he was doing and he said, 'I can't do it right now,' so she went back in and then he just disappeared."
Mike's supervisors were not immediately worried and figured he just needed some time to himself. However, when he failed to return later in the day they became concerned and began to search for him. They were unable to turn anything up but they did note that he had not taken any of his possessions with him. The only things he had were the clothes on his back and his wallet.
"At about 3:00 p.m., before I knew he was missing, I got a phone call and it was someone just breathing heavy," Sandra said. I did not think anything of it at the time and hung up the phone. When I was later contacted about his disappearance I thought back and wondered if that had been Mike, perhaps out of breath from running."
The Vermont State Police searched the woods around the ranch and questioned the residents but no one had any idea where Mike was. However, a few days later Sandra received another unusual phone call.
"I could hear his voice on the other end of the phone," Sandra said. "I kept calling his name but it was like he couldn't hear me and he was talking to somebody else. He said he had a friend he could stay with in College Park, Maryland, which is not far from where I live. I shouted his name and the phone just went dead. We tried everything but we couldn't trace the call. I immediately got on a plane and went to Vermont."
Sandra spent nearly two weeks in Vermont putting up missing person posters and trying to get information on her son. While there. a cashier at Wal-Mart said she thought she had seen him in the store but the manager would not let Sandra review the surveillance footage, so the police had to look through the tapes. Later, when she was able to see the images of the man in question it was difficult to determine if it was Mike. Whoever it was had purchased large quantities of water before leaving the store.
"In May 2006, we got a call from a woman in Ventura, California, who was positive that she had spoken with Mike at a local park," Sandra said. "Mike's dad and I got on a plane and flew to California and the woman agreed to meet with us. She would not disclose her identity and went by the name "Starr." She seemed reliable and well educated."
Why "Starr" opted for the Cloak and Dagger routine remains unclear; however she did provide Mike's parents with enough information to convince them that she had indeed spoken with Mike.
"She said that she would make sandwiches and take them to the park in Ventura. They have a large number of homeless people that hang out in the park during the day. She was giving them out and this person she thought was Mike seemed very mentally unstable. She said that he was talking to voices, which would have been something new but he did go off all his meds and his doctor said that could cause memory loss and a period of unconsciousness. She said she talked to him for a little while and he said he was trying to contact his mother and but he couldn't remember the phone number and he wasn't sure of where he lived but he knew it was back east somewhere. She didn't put much stock in it. He told her his name was Hogan but said she could call him Michael. So when she got home she called a friend and her friend got on the Internet and they came right to my son's Web site and she looked at the picture and felt pretty sure it was him."
Following the trip to California, Starr called Sandra a few more times but with each call she began to act more and more bizarre.
"She was very insistent that we not offer a reward because she felt it would be harmful to my son in the homeless community so we took it off for awhile then decided to put it back on," Sandra said. "She then got very angry and cut off all contact with us because we did that. She said, 'I can't work with you anymore.'"
That was, however, not the last Mike's family would hear from Starr. On Mother's Day 2007 she called Mike's father and told him that Mike had returned to Ventura but was now living in Oregon.
"She said he is living there with a woman working in the lumber industry and he feels bad that he hasn't called his mom but is afraid that if he does that I will put him in a hospital."
Starr has not had any contact with Mike's parents since the 2007 Mother's Day phone call. Her behavior has been odd and it appears as though she may know more than she is letting on.
The Oregon tip never panned out and Mike's parents continue to hope their son is safe. In the meantime they will not give up the search until they find their son.
"I am not in any way angry at him and he shouldn't feel that way," Sandra said. "All I want is for him to be happy and I want to know he is okay and if he is happy where he is. Then I will accept that. It is just too difficult not knowing. We all love him so much – his father, myself, his stepmother and stepfather, his brother and sister. We just really need to know and if he needs anything then we are here. I know he feels guilty about things and he shouldn't worry about that. Just to know to that he is alive would be such a gift to us."
William "Mike" Hogan is described as a white male, 6' tall, 180 lbs., with black hair and blue eyes. He has a birthmark on his upper back, a slightly receding hairline and a cap on one of his upper front teeth. Anyone with information is asked to call the CUE Center for Missing Persons 24 hour anonymous line at 910-232-1687 or the Vermont State Police (investigative case # 05C102439) at 1-802-773-9101. If you believe you see Mike, keep him in sight while you contact one of these agencies and until someone arrives on the scene. Mike is not dangerous.
For more information or to help, please visit: www.helpfindmikehogan.org.
If you are a family member of a missing loved one and have a case you would like covered here, contact me via e-mail . If you are a reader who would like to help, please spread the word about this blog so others can find us. The more people who see these stories the better chances someone might come forward with information.