JAMES EDWARD HOGAN~AMERICAN EMBASSY VICE-CONSUL IN CURACAO 9/24/09

[MuffyBee]

Thank you for the updates and information texasmom.  When you first posted the articles about Mr. Hogan being missing, I started searching for news articles in the U.S. and there was one.  And then another.  Not much at all   

[texasmom]

Thank you for the updates and information texasmom.  When you first posted the articles about Mr. Hogan being missing, I started searching for news articles in the U.S. and there was one.  And then another.  Not much at all   

You're welcome MuffyBee!

I haven't found much at all in the U. S. news either.  I think the same article has been picked up by several different news sources and that's about it. 

I wish we knew more!   

[texasmom]

http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/search-vice-consul-hogan-stepped

Search for Vice Consul Hogan stepped up

Published on30 September 2009 - 3:16pm

Filed under: Curaçao James Hogan missing persons missing US vice consul Natalee Holloway Netherlands Antilles


The search for the missing US vice-consul James Hogan in Curacao has been stepped up. Two experts, one of them an FBI official, have been sent from the United States to join the investigation team on the Dutch Antilles island.

The Netherlands has supplied scuba divers and diving equipment for an underwater search in cooperation with the US navy. The Netherlands Forensic Institute is investigating traces of blood found on clothing that might have belonged to Mr Hogen. The clothing was found near Baya Beach.

The 49-year-old vice consul went missing on 24 September. His wife alerted the police on Friday morning after he failed to return from a walk the previous evening.

The police are keeping all options open. The case has been given top priority. The authorities are keen to solve the case after mistakes were made in the Natalee Holloway case. The US teenager went missing in 2005 on Aruba, another Dutch Antilles island. This case has never been solved in spite of an alleged confession caught on film.


 

[texasmom]

http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/mystery-deepens-over-us-vice-consul%E2%80%99s-disappearance

Mystery deepens over US vice consul’s disappearance

Published on : 29 September 2009 - 8:13pm | By Paddy Maguire

Filed under: Curaçao Dutch Antilles James Hogan Natalee Holloway US Vice Consul

The disappearance last Thursday of the US vice consul to Curacao in the Dutch Antilles has prompted a huge search on the island and the waters surrounding it. Local authorities on the island, which lies 40 kilometres off Venezuela’s coast, are being assisted by both the Dutch Royal Navy and the US Navy in a bid to find further clues as to 49 year old James Hogan’s disappearance.

Mr Hogan took his regular walk on Thursday evening and was reported missing by his wife on Friday morning after he failed to return home. A preliminary search by police found no trace of Mr Hogan

Over the weekend a passer-by found some abandoned clothes in the vicinity of Baya Beach area, some ten kilometres away from the Hogan’s family home. Traces of blood were found on the clothes and the area surrounding the place where they were found. The clothes matched a description given by Mr Hogan’s wife, according to Ludmilla Vicento, spokesperson for the public prosecutor's office.
 
DNA tests
The NFI [Dutch Forensic Institute] is now carrying out tests to see if the blood found on the clothes matches Mr Hogan’s DNA.
 
Mrs Vincento told Radio Netherlands:
 
"No FBI agents are involved at this stage but US agencies may become active here if we invite them. The Netherlands have sent a couple of specialist detectives with search dogs."

Radio Netherlands correspondent in the Dutch Antilles Rene Roodheuvel said that the search was widening by the day.

“The police are in constant contact with the consulate. There happened to be an American ship in the harbour which is helping with the investigations, providing men and helicopters for the search. The investigation itself is being handled locally by police and the district attorney.”

Missing person
So far it’s being treated as a missing persons case, says Mr Roodheuven, but with every day that passes, fears are growing for Mr Hogan’s safety.

Inevitably, comparisons have been drawn with other disappearances or deaths of foreign nationals in the Dutch Antilles. US teenager Natalee Holloway disappeared without a trace on the island of Aruba in 2005, prompting massive media coverage. In 2008 Dutch trainee nurse Marlies van der Kouwe was killed on the island of Bonaire.

Rene Roodheuvel says that police are trying to learn from mistakes that were made in previous missing persons cases.

“They are trying to be as transparent as possible. They learned from the Nathalie Holloway case…mistakes were made and they will try to prevent that from happening again.” 





Those last two paragraphs sound good...I just hope they're TRUE.   
 

[texasmom]

http://www.nrc.nl/international/article2375096.ece/Netherlands_Antilles_to_cease_to_exist_as_a_country

Netherlands Antilles to cease to exist as a country

Published: 1 October 2009 13:17 | Changed: 1 October 2009 15:43

By Radio Netherlands Worldwide

The Netherlands Antilles will cease to exist as a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands on October 10, 2010.

In a meeting on Curaçao on Wednesday, the Dutch-Caribbean islands of Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba agreed to become Dutch municipalities.

On the same date, 10-10-10, Curaçao and the Dutch half of St Maarten will become independent countries within the Kingdom, on an equal footing with the Netherlands proper and with Aruba, which gained its "status aparte" in 1986.

The previous semi-independence arrangement between the Dutch central government and its former Caribbean colonies dated from 1954 and was due for renewal.

Dutch deputy home affairs minister Ank Bijleveld warned that a lot of work remains to be done following Wednesday's Curaçao agreement. The parliaments in The Hague and Willemstad (Curaçao) need to pass a number of laws, and administrative bodies for Curaçao and St Maarten need to be set up.

The Dutch government also wants assurances that rampant crime on Curaçao and St Maarten will be fought harder. Dutch police detectives will continue to be active in the kingdom's new countries.

[texasmom]

http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-336257

Starting from the bottom of the page, I'd posted a couple of these with a news article a day or two ago...there are more now....a new one by "thinkagain13" who claims to be the oldest daughter of James Hogan
    

       Antillian // 17 hours ago   
Report violation
Because they gave this case so much attention,....and the should, people are really focusing on everything they hear about your father. Our only source is the press right now,...and I DO AGREE with you that here on the island they go around on gossip, but in most places it's like this. The news reports just don't add up, one does not go walking from Toni kunchi all the way up to caracasbaai, and whenever I go walking, I go in just simple shorts and a t-shirt which don't neccesarly are expensive at all. This is the way things go whenever you get such a case, people talking ,speculating ,and for the one standing at the other end it will be frustrating hearing these things and wanting the world to know their loved one was really not all the person they say he was. People will keep on talking dear, just try and not let things get to you, and really pray a lot for strenght and that they find your dad alive and well.I just hope, the police is not focusing on one part of the island only, when they should be broading up their search everywhere. Strenght to your family, and we hope they find him soon !!!
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      thinkagain13 // Oct 1, 2009   
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I am the last one to hate on anyone.  Antillian, you shouldn't let rumors and stupid interpretations get in the way.  The reason my dad wears jeans and polo shirts to go walking is because he often chooses to go without things he thinks are unnecessary to make sure that his wife and children have everything they want.  Why should it matter whether he chose to go walking in jeans and  polo shirt, or went walking in the latest, greatest, and most expensive work out gear!?!  My little sister in the only one of us girls who was here the day after ... she didn't go to school, she didn't leave the house ... she has spent her days taking care of my mom.  The first time she left the house was today when I took her to the grocery store after arriving here from the United States the night before.  I don't know why or if it's even true that the first place the cops searched were night clubs.  I would guess that in many missing person's cases many people often are found in such places.  But unless you knew my dad and knew the kind of loving father, doting husband, and devoted catholic he is, you really have no business gossiping or speculating about the very personal aspects of his life, or about his character!
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        Antillian // Sep 30, 2009   
Report violation
I hope they find Mr. James Hogan !
But a lot of questions people have....WHO goes walking in jeans and polo ?
thinkagain13,...where you or one of your sisters really in mambo or vicinity on friday after your dad was missing ?!
Why is it that the first places they searched where adult nightclubs ?
Remember,...these are the things we people hear outside and sit and wonder, because we want him found too. Dont hate on the people who live here. We do NOT want a Natalee Holloway case here in Curacao. We just want him found alive and well. Or at least some truth in the story.
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           iDarren // Sep 30, 2009   
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his clothing and shoes???
the clothing has been shipped to the Dutch forensic institute in the Netherlands to determine if they are Mr. Hogan's or if they have something to do with his disappearance. The local authorities haven't receive any results yet, so you can't just report that "his" clothing have been found.
    

      Kashira // Sep 28, 2009   
Report violation
This is what's so wrong with the media in this country!
I'm a family friend, and you have got the story all wrong. You can't just post the first piece of news you find just because you want to be the first to supposedly give the inside scoop!
You only make things worse by making assumptions and posting up bullshit.
the family is going through enough without having amateur uninformed writers making things worse.
pray for the family, or at least hope and wish that everything works out. that's what we're all doing.
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       ArmyNavygirl // Sep 28, 2009   
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WIparent,
  Did you NOT read the previous comment. His family is reading this. Your irresponsibility is appalling. I'm one of his friends. You don't even know him at all and I can tell you he would never do anything like that intentionally...go back to watching your soap operas.


    thinkagain13 // Sep 27, 2009   
Report violation
First of all, you need to get your story straight before you post it.  I am the oldest daughter of James Hogan.  There was no domestic dispute.  My Dad and my mom have been married for 24 years and he has never once taken off after a fight.  The lead the police have down there right now is that a woman who was fired from the office where my Dad works has criminal connections.  Second of all, my mom hasn't heard ANYTHING about his clothes being found, or anything that might indicate anything positive.  The local police insist she had something to do with his disappearance, and refuse to investigate the woman who was fired further.  My family is going through enough without you printing bs stories!
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    WIparent // Sep 27, 2009   
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After a domestic dispute, sounds like he decided to disappear forever in the sea, to me. Left his clothes as a message he had done it.

[texasmom]

http://www.rnw.nl/english/radioshow/tsunami-wreaks-havoc-samoa

Audio clip from Radio Netherlands Worldwide and snapshots from the case so far.

<a href="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid21.photobucket.com/albums/b258/texasmom55/Hogan%20James%20Edward/JamesEdwardHoganRNWReport09302009_0.flv" target="_blank">http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid21.photobucket.com/albums/b258/texasmom55/Hogan%20James%20Edward/JamesEdwardHoganRNWReport09302009_0.flv</a>

[2NJSons_Mom]

DNA on bloodly clothes matches missing US diplomat
1 hr 23 mins ago
WILLEMSTAD, Curacao – DNA on blood-spattered clothes found on a Curacao beach matches that of a U.S. diplomat who vanished on this Dutch Caribbean island last week, police and prosecutors say.

In a joint statement issued late Thursday, Curacao authorities said the Dutch Forensic Institute has confirmed that bloody clothes found along Baya Beach belonged to James Hogan, 49, who was reported missing by his wife on Sept. 25.

Police also reported they have found the missing U.S. vice consul's cell phone in the sea.

Authorities have been searching beaches with sniffer dogs and combing the sea floor with a sonar-equipped robotic device for traces of Hogan.

The Curacao prosecutor's office said the Royal Dutch Navy and the U.S. Navy were assisting with the search.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department declined to comment Friday.

The U.S. State Department said earlier it was working closely with Curacao authorities to try to locate Hogan, who arrived in the southern Caribbean island in August 2008 for a two-year assignment.

Hogan was last seen when he left his home to go for a walk on Thursday night.

His responsibility includes consular duties for the Dutch island of Aruba, where Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway vanished in May 2005 during a high school graduation trip.

Curacao, the headquarters of the Netherlands Antilles government, lies about 40 miles (65 kilometers) off Venezuela's coast.


Copyright © 2009 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.Questions or CommentsPrivacy PolicyTerms of ServiceCopyright/IP Policy
 

NUT's edit...finally got the link in!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091002/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/cb_curacao_us_vice_consul_missing_2

[texasmom]

Thanks 2NJ.   

[jen3560]

I'm just now reading thru this thread.  Has it been addressed yet - did this person replace Jean Akers?

http://www.bellinghamherald.com/347/story/1093620.html


POSTED: Wednesday, Sep. 30, 2009

Rescuers comb Curacao for missing US diplomat


The Associated Press
   

WILLEMSTAD, CURACAO Rescuers searching for a U.S. diplomat led sniffer dogs over beaches Wednesday as technicians prepared to comb the sea floor with a robotic device for traces of a vice consul who vanished on this Dutch Caribbean island last week.

Curacao prosecutors said James Hogan, 49, was reported missing Friday morning by his wife. He apparently left his home to go for a walk the night before.

On Wednesday, searchers scoured coastal areas for Hogan after passers-by found blood-spattered clothes on Baya Beach. A spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office, Ludmila Vicento, told Radio Netherlands Worldwide that the clothes match descriptions given by his wife.

In an e-mail sent Wednesday, the U.S. State Department said it is working closely with Curacao authorities in an effort to locate Hogan, who arrived in the southern Caribbean island in August 2008 for a two-year assignment.

The Curacao prosecutor's office said the Royal Dutch Navy and the U.S. Navy were assisting with the search. Four sniffer dogs were provided by the Dutch Forensic Institute. The sonar-equipped robotic device was expected to arrive Wednesday afternoon.

Curacao, the headquarters of the Netherlands Antilles government, lies about 40 miles (64 kilometers) off Venezuela's coast.

[jen3560]

My God.

There is so much here that is just sickeningly familiar.  It's like a nightmare is replaying itself. 

I wonder if the US authorities are really only there in a supervisory role, as they were in Aruba - while the local press was touting false involvement/help in the investigation.

That one article a mere 4 days ago sadly leads me to believe that is the case. 

Has anyone found any info or place where someone could converse with Hogan's daughter that is posting?

Someone really out to at least share some lessons learned with her.............and encourage her to beg and plead with the US media to get involved, and get invovled NOW!

I cannot believe another Dutch island has made the same "mistake" as Aruba did with Natalee.  Why did it take them so damn long to search in earnest for this poor man?

[Buckeye]

Oct. 1

QUESTION: Can you talk about the U.S. diplomat that’s missing in Curacao?

MR. KELLY: Yeah. Vice Consul James Hogan left his residence late last Thursday, on Thursday night and, unfortunately, hasn’t been heard from since. And I believe his wife reported his disappearance on Friday. And since then, the Embassy and Diplomatic Security has been working closely with the authorities in Curacao to locate Mr. Hogan.

QUESTION: Do they think it’s something related to foul play or --

MR. KELLY: I --

QUESTION: -- have absolutely no leads, no idea?

MR. KELLY: No. Well, unfortunately not, not that I’m aware of. It’s a – of course, we’re extremely concerned, as is his family, that we have no --

QUESTION: Can you confirm the Dutch Royal Navy --

MR. KELLY: -- information.

QUESTION: -- and the U.S. Navy are assisting in the search?

MR. KELLY: No, I can’t. Yes, I can. (Laughter.) Yes, the Dutch Royal Navy is assisting in the search.

QUESTION: And the U.S. Navy, apparently?

MR. KELLY: Yes, and the U.S. Navy.

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2009/oct/130169.htm

[Buckeye]

Oct 2

No text, yet.

1:20 into video, discusses clothes and cell phone found...close contact with Netherlands Forensics and Curacao police... Haven't listened to whole tape to see if topic is readdressed.

http://www.state.gov/video/?videoid=36699559001

I can't register to post on ireport, where daughter is posting.  Can anyone post there...to have her contact media?? and maybe link to this thread...?

[klaasend]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gH_Ebn3Z80d0mZh7qmEDDvZaCNIwD9B359IG0

DNA on bloodly clothes matches missing US diplomat
By DAVID McFADDEN (AP) – 1 hour ago

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The weeklong search for an American diplomat has taken a grim turn as investigators on the Dutch island of Curacao said DNA from bloody clothing strewn along a popular beach matched that of missing man.

Police and prosecutors in this palm-fringed corner of the Caribbean said forensic scientists have confirmed that blood-spattered clothes found on Baya Beach "definitely" belonged to James Hogan, a 49-year-old U.S. vice consul who vanished a week ago. Divers also found his cell phone in the sea.

On Friday, authorities used sniffer dogs to search rocky coastal areas and combed the Caribbean floor with a sonar-equipped robotic device for traces of Hogan. The Curacao prosecutor's office said the Royal Dutch Navy and the U.S. Navy were assisting.

Investigators on the island of 137,000 inhabitants are still trying to trace where Hogan went after leaving his home to go for a walk on the night of Sept. 24.

He and his wife live in Toni Kunchi, a quiet district outside the capital, Willemstad, that is home to wealthy business owners and diplomats.

U.S. State Department records show that Hogan, who arrived in the southern Caribbean island in August 2008 for a two-year assignment, had a legal residence in Florida, but no city or town is listed.

He completed junior foreign service officer training in 2005 and spent two years as a consular officer in Gabarone, Botswana.

State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said at a news briefing Friday in Washington that the agency is "very concerned about the welfare of Mr. Hogan."

"This is obviously upsetting news; it's not conclusive news. But we will continue to stay in close touch with the Netherlands forensic service and with the Curacao police," Kelly said.

Hogan's responsibility includes consular duties for the nearby Dutch island of Aruba, where Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway vanished in May 2005 during a high school graduation trip.

Holloway was last seen leaving a bar in the Aruban capital. No trace of her has been found despite extensive searches involving Aruban soldiers, FBI agents and even Dutch F-16 jets with special equipment.

Some residents in Curacao, a tiny island where the U.S. keeps military planes and personnel, said they were concerned that Hogan's disappearance might put a dark cloud over its vital tourism industry.

"I don't know if it will have a huge impact, but this is definitely not a good thing, obviously," said Angela Vergouwen, a 23-year-old waitress and bartender at the Grand Cafe De Heeren. "Everyone is talking about it."

Curacao, the headquarters of the Netherlands Antilles government, lies just 30 miles off the coast of Venezuela and it is sometimes used as a jumping-off point for drug traffickers.

[texasmom]

It may not mean anything at all, but does anyone else find it interesting that he went missing on Aruba's election night?  Just as the winds of change were blowing in....

[texasmom]

My God.

There is so much here that is just sickeningly familiar.  It's like a nightmare is replaying itself. 

I wonder if the US authorities are really only there in a supervisory role, as they were in Aruba - while the local press was touting false involvement/help in the investigation.

That one article a mere 4 days ago sadly leads me to believe that is the case. 

Has anyone found any info or place where someone could converse with Hogan's daughter that is posting?

Someone really out to at least share some lessons learned with her.............and encourage her to beg and plead with the US media to get involved, and get invovled NOW!

I cannot believe another Dutch island has made the same "mistake" as Aruba did with Natalee.  Why did it take them so damn long to search in earnest for this poor man?

Jen, you have said what I've felt from the beginning.  I'd hoped I was wrong, but the signs were there from the getgo.  My first sick feeling in the pit of my stomach was the Mr. Sambo...and that was in one of the very first articles I read.  I know that is probably just coincidence but it didn't and still doesn't change the feeling.....

 

[texasmom]

http://www.rnw.nl/node/29629#

[Mere]

Is there some kind of law on this island (and Aruba)....that allows the Marines and the Navy
involvement in the search for the missing but the FBI is not allowed "unless we invite them".
What a slap in the face.

When a member of the American consulate is missing, you would think they would be thrilled
to "invite" any member with exceptional investigative experience.  Would they be embarrassed
if the FBI located Mr Hogan before they did?

It does bother me that the island is a dropping off point for drugs 30 miles from the Venezuelan coast.
Did he come across something?

It bothers me about the mention of all the crime on the island?  Did he meet with with any lowlife?

It bothers me that there is almost no mention of this disappearance by the U.S. media.

What doesn't bother me is to learn what really happened to Mr. Hogan - I think they call that a
transparent investigation.  Was it a kidnapping, a domestic dispute, an armed robbery......?

What I really could not stand would be not knowing 4 years from now.

[texasmom]

http://www.amigoe.com/artman/publish/artikel_63289.php

Google translation:

DNA research confirms blood of James Hogan

October 2, 2009, 14:41 (GMT -04:00)

Email this article
Print this article

PHILIPSBURG - The Spanish Water is being thoroughly scoured for clues in the disappearance of the American vice consul James Hogan. Today the Spanish Water parts were completed. Baya Beach was again accessible, but the path to the Quarantine Building a fence was still closed.

As of Wednesday morning there is research under water and place in the Spanish Water at the entrance of the Spanish Water to open sea. The search, which Antillean, Dutch and American military personnel to participate, are daily starting place and include in the boathouse of the rescue organization Citro Caracas Bay.

This morning everyone was around nine hours left. There are only two Americans who are about to take a kayak into the water to go to the area to trace.

Unfortunately they are not very talkative. One would just nod affirmatively that the team has experience in the search for missing persons around the world. But in the interest of the investigation they should not talk to the press.

Furthermore, the Spanish Water, near the creek in the Curaçao Yacht Club, are two small boats to see where men camouflagekleding water scour. But they are just too far from shore to call if they have found something important.

The Coast Guard asks users of the Spanish Water sailing instructions to follow when movements are restricted and some parts are temporarily closed. This research continues until further notice. It uses a type of underwater robot afspeurt soil.

Blood Tracks
Dutch Forensic Institute (NFI) confirmed based on DNA analysis, that the blood found on the clothing, the clothing itself and the blood traces on the ground on the peninsula of Caracas Bay, the U.S. vice consul James Hogan lost his.

Hogan was on Thursday last week was last seen. It was evening at ten hours from his home to Toni Kunchi went for a walk. A day later, afternoon, his clothes and some items found. The Public Ministry also confirmed that last Wednesday in the search area in a sea of mobile phone is found that Hogan was. This is currently being investigated.

May lift
Research has shown that the first vice consul remained in the neighborhood and then, between eleven and twelve hours first Bapor Kibra should have and then Baya Beach. The police also calls witnesses Hogan might have given a lift, these places have seen him, whether in the company of others, especially by giving this to the police. "We still miss a lot of pieces of the puzzle," said spokesman Reginald Huggins. The Hogan family is as far as possible kept out of range. It is not known whether in the context of the research stuff from his house confiscated.

Every afternoon there will be a briefing location. Police spokesman Huggins probably expected this afternoon to release more information.

[texasmom]

Is there some kind of law on this island (and Aruba)....that allows the Marines and the Navy
involvement in the search for the missing but the FBI is not allowed "unless we invite them".
What a slap in the face.

When a member of the American consulate is missing, you would think they would be thrilled
to "invite" any member with exceptional investigative experience.  Would they be embarrassed
if the FBI located Mr Hogan before they did?

It does bother me that the island is a dropping off point for drugs 30 miles from the Venezuelan coast.
Did he come across something?

It bothers me about the mention of all the crime on the island?  Did he meet with with any lowlife?

It bothers me that there is almost no mention of this disappearance by the U.S. media.

What doesn't bother me is to learn what really happened to Mr. Hogan - I think they call that a
transparent investigation.  Was it a kidnapping, a domestic dispute, an armed robbery......?

What I really could not stand would be not knowing 4 years from now.

I know how you feel Mere!   

And I have many of the same questions you've stated above....