Police in Washington, DC, are investigating the disappearance of a single mother and public affairs executive at Eli Lilly who has been missing for more than a week, prompting an intensive search by family members, friends, and authorities.
The Metropolitan Police Department is asking for the public's help in locating Antoinette Forbes, 53, who was last seen on Sept. 4 in the 3200 block of Nebraska Avenue NW. Police described Forbes as an Asian woman, 5 feet, 2 inches tall, weighing about 115 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. Her clothing at the time of her disappearance is unknown.
Authorities have classified Forbes' case as a critical missing persons case. Police released a missing-person poster asking for the public's assistance in the investigation.
Police have not disclosed additional information about the circumstances surrounding Forbes' disappearance and have not released any information about her son. USA TODAY reached out to the Metropolitan Police Department for comment.
Family members and friends have pleaded for her safe return. In a statement issued on Sept. 14, the National Presbyterian Church in DC said Forbes, a member of its congregation, disappeared from her home under what it described as "mysterious circumstances."
The church said friends, coworkers, and community members gathered on Sept. 12 for a vigil and urged anyone with information, surveillance footage, or dashcam recordings from the area near Nebraska Avenue NW around the weekend of Sept. 4 to contact police.
"Our National Presbyterian Church community is urgently asking for your prayers and assistance ... her family is desperately seeking any information that could help bring her home safely," the church said in the statement.
'There is no way that she would just leave'
Forbes' sister, Aileen Forbes, previously told local television stations WUSA9 and WJLA that her disappearance is unusual and has left her loved ones deeply concerned. She said the sisters are in frequent contact and that nothing seemed out of the ordinary when they last spoke before Antoinette Forbes vanished.
"We're practically twins. We're best friends. She is probably the most important person in my life," Aileen Forbes told WUSA9. "There is no way that she would just leave."
Before her disappearance, Aileen Forbes said the sisters had talked about Christmas vacation with their family and planned to finalize flights the next day, according to WUSA9 and WJLA.
A friend who checked on Antoinette Forbes after relatives were unable to reach her found several personal belongings left behind at her home, WJLA reported. Her phones, keys, wallet, purse and her dog were inside the residence, while her car remained parked outside.
Aileen Forbes said her sister is a respected professional who works in communications and is a single mother to a 10-year-old son, according to WUSA9. A GoFundMe page, launched to help Antoinette Forbes' family with search efforts, described her as a "kind and talented mother, sister, daughter, colleague and friend to many throughout DC and beyond."
Antoinette Forbes works as the associate vice president and head of public affairs at Eli Lilly, a major U.S.-based pharmaceutical company, according to her LinkedIn page. The company told CNN that it was working with authorities and encouraged anyone with information to contact police.
USA TODAY reached out to Eli Lilly for comment.
Report: Father of Antoinette Forbes' son arrested on probation warrant
Russell Ashford, the father of Antoinette Forbes' son, was arrested on Sept. 12 in Pennsylvania on a warrant alleging a probation violation in Maryland, the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office confirmed to WJLA. A spokesperson for the state’s attorney’s office did not provide details about the alleged probation violation.
Ashford was arrested in Brighton Township in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, according to a Pennsylvania State Police report. The report states that the arrest occurred during a traffic stop and state police determined that Ashford was "wanted by authorities in the state of Maryland."
He is being held in the Beaver County Jail pending extradition, according to the state police report.
Investigators have not publicly linked Ashford's arrest to Antoinette Forbes' disappearance, and the Metropolitan Police Department has not identified him as a suspect in the case. No charges have been filed against Ashford in connection with her disappearance.
USA TODAY reached out to the Montgomery County State's Attorney’s Office for information.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Mysterious circumstances.' Search intensifies for missing DC mother
