For the last 15 days, Antoinette Forbes’ loved ones, friends and colleagues have experienced a sudden emptiness that they hope will be filled soon.
Saturday marked two weeks since her family last spoke with her.
Sept. 4 was the last day Forbes was seen, and Sept. 5 was the last day that her family last spoke with her via a FaceTime call.
“It was a completely normal morning; there were no signs of anything extraordinary,” a relative told News4.
Her loved ones say Forbes’ car keys, wallet and two phones were left inside, and her front door was unlocked when friends came to check on her.
D.C. Department of Forensic Sciences crews could be seen going in and out of Forbes’ home on multiple days, including Sept. 10, 16 and 17. They were seen carrying out what appeared to be bags of evidence from inside.
On Sept. 12, Pennsylvania State Police confirmed Forbes’ ex-partner, Russell Ashford, had been arrested for probation violation for a case from five years ago where he pled guilty to assaulting her.
News4 was able to obtain audio from a probation before judgment hearing from back in July. Ashford asked a Montgomery County judge to change his conviction to probation before judgment, meaning he would no longer have a conviction in the case.
Both Forbes and Ashford offered testimony about the 2021 incident.
“And I spoke to some neighbors recently who said, ‘Antoinette, he tried to kill you,’” Forbes had said.
“Before that incident, I not even had a traffic ticket since my teenage years,” Ashford said.
By Sept. 16, Ashford faced new gun possession charges in Pennsylvania.
Ashford has not been named a suspect in Forbes’ missing persons case, nor has D.C. police released any suspect information.
Now that the search to bring Forbes home has stretched just beyond two weeks, her loved ones said they’re still asking the public for help, writing, in part, “ We cannot know which photograph, which camera, which conversation or which person will provide the information that helps find Antoinette. And that is why, fifteen days later, we need you with us. Please help us bring Antoinette home.”
