Longtime Action News reporter is leaving Fresno. There are stories he’s leaving behind

Corin Hoggard was a bit unsure when he arrived in Fresno in 2005 to work as an investigative reporter for ABC 30.

He certainly didn’t intend to stay for any extended period of time.

But Fresno has a way of working on a person, and after nearly two decades the idea of leaving the city has Hoggard emotional.

“I’m going to get teary on you, maybe,” Hoggard says in a phone interview with The Bee.

“I really hope not.”

Hoggard is quitting his job at ABC 30 and moving with his wife to Minneapolis, Minnesota. His last day with the Fresno television station is Dec. 30.

To be clear, this isn’t a career move.

Hoggard doesn’t have a new gig lined up, though he is looking, he says. He’d like to stay in the news industry, but it won’t be a requirement.

He’s moving to be closer to his family.

In a post on Facebook announcing the departure, Hoggard says his daughter is in her second year at the University of Minnesota and his brother lives in Minneapolis with his wife and their young children.

“He’s been one of my best friends since I was 2,” Hoggard says.

“We love hanging out with his family,” and, as a side note, “The Hoggard boys love Fresno ladies — both our wives are from here.”

Hoggard and his wife also have a network of friends in the Twin Cities, including some of his best friends growing up.

But the leaving won’t be easy, Hoggard says.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever made a harder decision in my life.”

He loves working at ABC 30 and he loves the people, he says.

“I really, really love the people in this community.”

And there is a real sense that he might be letting them down.

That’s not only a message to the mass of his viewers — Hoggard was one of the first Fresno news personalities to have a large following on social media — but also the people whose stories he helps tell.

He estimates he’s done 4,000 stories in his time at ABC 30, cultivating a list of sources who have been willing to trust him during some of their most traumatic moments. That was true in the case of Spencer Scarber, the convicted rapist whose family helped him escape to Mexico during his trail.

It was a family member who eventually broke the story to Hoggard, in a 1:30 a.m. phone call.

“I’m a slow burn: persistent,” Hoggard says.

Sometimes it can take months for a source to feel comfortable enough to share information.

“I’ve told so many families: If you’re not ready to talk now, I’ll wait,” he says.

On Monday, he reported on the family of Olivia Patla. Patla was an 18-year-old who died of an overdose last year, the day before her graduation from Clovis North High School.

It took Hoggard 18 months to land the interview.

And he knows there are other stories in the hopper that he’ll be “leaving on the desk.”

“It’s just been an honor that people were willing to trust me,” he says.

“It’s really hard to leave it behind.”