Draft:Matthew Hoggatt

Matthew Serio Hoggatt (born September 20, 1977), also known as Matt Hoggatt, is an American singer-songwriter, social media personality, and retired police detective from Gautier, Mississippi. Matt won a contest in American Songwriter Magazine in 2012 with his original song entitled "Dear Jimmy Buffett" which led to a record deal on Jimmy Buffett's record label Mailboat Records, as well as a regular DJ slot on Radio Margaritaville Sirius XM. Matt has also been the subject of a film documentary entitled "Living For a Song" on Mississippi Public Broadcasting. While working as a police detective in 2020, Matt was instrumental in helping solve several cold cases in Mississippi regarding unidentified human remains, including the case of Clara Birdlong, who was suspected to be a victim of Serial Killer Samuel Little.

Early life
Matt was born on September 20, 1977, in Pascagoula, Mississippi to Allen and Paulette Hoggatt, retired K-12 educators. As a teenager, Matt graduated from Pascagoula High School in 1996 and later transferred to the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and the University of Southern Mississippi where he was elected as Vice President of the Kappa Alpha Order Fraternity. Matt became a police officer in 1999 on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, graduating from class 99-3 of the Harrison County Law Enforcement Training Academy. Matt served in the Mississippi Army National Guard from 1997-2005 assigned to the 41st Army Band as a trumpet and euphonium player.

Entertainment career
In 2012 while working full time as a police detective, Matt entered and won, a song lyric contest in American Songwriter Magazine with a song he wrote entitled "Dear Jimmy Buffett" about his musical hero Jimmy Buffett. A subsequent article in the magazine which detailed Matt's story, led to an introduction to Buffett along with a record deal on Mailboat Records. Matt toured for two years in support of his debut album "Hotter Than Fishgrease" and eventually became an on-air personality for Radio Margaritaville, Sirius XM. Matt has performed around the country as a singer songwriter and opening act for performers such as Shenandoah, Confederate Railroad, Ronnie McDowell, Paul Thorn, Mac McAnally and Jimmy Buffett. In 2024, Matt created the "Timeline Podcast with Matt Hoggatt" to feature stories from back stage and behind the badge.

Law enforcement career
Matt served for twenty years as a full time law enforcement officer, spending much of that time as an investigator/detective for various agencies along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. In 2021 Matt became a criminal justice instructor at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. Matt has earned a Master of Science degree in criminal justice from William Carey University, and is currently pursuing a PhD in criminal justice from Liberty University. Matt volunteers with the DNA Doe Project as a consultant, and was selected in 2024 to serve as a Team Adam Consultant for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.