Further Hogan remains, effects found
Spring Lake community saddened by news of discovery
Toolbox
By Cristina Kumka STAFF WRITER - Published: November 19, 2009
SHREWSBURY — A police dog discovered the boots and bones of William "Mike" Hogan Wednesday morning in the woods lining the Spring Lake Ranch in Cuttingsville, where he disappeared in 2005.
The discovery marks the end of a more than four-year mission to solve the mystery of the then 28-year-old's disappearance, one that involved investigators chasing tips in Rutland and California, an extensive police dog hunt and a family asking the public over and over again for any information on their loved one's whereabouts.
The bones, which didn't appear to be broken, were sent to the Chief Medical Examiner's Office for positive identification shortly after the discovery at 11 a.m.
Investigators and police dogs from across New England searched the woods where Hogan's skull was found by a deer hunter Sunday and discovered the additional remains — bones, the boots Hogan was wearing when he disappeared and identification cards with his name on them, according to state police detective Lt. Tim Oliver.
Wednesday's findings were about 100 yards away from the where the skull was found three days prior, not far from the ranch or Spring Lake where Hogan was last seen on May 16, 2005, according to Oliver.
The cause of death hasn't been determined but it doesn't appear suspicious, the detective said.
Oliver said he wasn't surprised the man's remains were found about four years after his initial disappearance because the area is heavily wooded and swampy.
Lynn Pilcher, assistant director at Spring Lake who was involved with the search when Hogan first disappeared, said she still had questions.
"Well, I think it is a question in my mind why the dogs didn't pick up his scent (during the first search in 2005) but I trust that a thorough search was conducted and that's all I can … that's what I know," Pilcher said Wednesday.
On the day he disappeared, Hogan, who was working at the ranch answering phones, was visibly distraught and was last seen in a smoking shelter with other people near the lake, Pilcher said.
The police dogs began their search for Hogan a day later but couldn't pick up his scent and everyone was left wondering if he walked away or was possibly picked up in a car, she said.
Days and weeks passed but ranch employees didn't forget Hogan, Pilcher said.
"All of us who live and work here would think pretty frequently about Mike," she said.
"It's just something that didn't go away from our consciousnesses."
Oliver said he did not know if the area was searched when Hogan first went missing but it may be determined after he received the exact location where the remains were found Wednesday.
Hogan moved to the ranch from Maryland in 2005 for treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder and at the time of his disappearance was heavily medicated, his mother Sandra Hopkins said in a May interview.
The family is making arrangements this week to come to Vermont, father Michael Hogan said Tuesday.
Pilcher said she drove to work Wednesday thinking about the many people with addictive conditions and mental disorders the ranch has helped but also those it hasn't.
"We try to help them manage the symptoms of whatever it is that they are dealing with and try to help them learn more about themselves, outside of their illness," Pilcher said.
"It's not an exact science, there is no perfect solution to people's problems … it's sad."
cristina.kumka@rutlandherald.com
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