Memorandum
- From
- Caroline Mercer via fox - U.S.
- Date
- Filed
- News·4 min to read
- Re
DC Mother Missing as Police Treat Home as Active Crime Scene
ReDC Mother Missing as Police Treat Home as Active Crime Scene
Antoinette Forbes, 53, vanished from her Washington, D.C., home on Friday. Her family says police have reclassified her as critically missing and are treating the house as an active crime scene, barring even relatives from entering.
Washington, D.C., police are treating the home of a missing 53-year-old mother as an active crime scene, according to her family, as the search for her enters a critical phase. Antoinette Forbes was last seen around 3 p.m. Friday at her residence in the 3200 block of Nebraska Avenue NW, the Metropolitan Police Department said. The case was initially classified as a missing person but was reclassified as critically missing within less than 24 hours, a designation used when someone is believed to be in danger or facing life-threatening circumstances.
Forbes' sister, Aileen Forbes, said a series of alarming discoveries inside the home immediately signaled that something was wrong. After testing positive for COVID-19 over the Labor Day weekend, Aileen texted her sister because she has an underlying health condition that can make the illness more dangerous. When repeated texts and FaceTime calls went unanswered, she grew concerned and contacted close family friends who live near the Washington home. The friends, who had a key, entered the house and found Forbes' dog, Max, alone after he had gone to the bathroom indoors, suggesting he had been left for some time. Her car remained in the driveway, and her phones and wallet were still inside.
«I knew immediately something was wrong,» Aileen Forbes said. She described the last conversation with her sister as an ordinary check-in. The sisters had spoken over FaceTime on Saturday morning while making plans to visit their mother in Florida over the holidays. «It was just a fairly ordinary check-in with my sister, with whom I have regular contact — daily contact by text or on FaceTime,» she said. «We were just talking about our plans for the holidays.»
According to family friend Elizabeth Northrup, police initially classified Forbes as a missing person before upgrading the case. Aileen said investigators have told the family the home is being treated as an active crime scene and that no one, including relatives, has been allowed inside. «No one has access to Antoinette's home, not even me,» she said. «In some ways, it's my home too, and I have not been able to step foot in it.»
She said detectives have not provided significant updates but have remained in contact with the family and continue accepting information that could aid the investigation. «I know that they have been working tirelessly since Monday afternoon... around the clock,» Aileen said. Police describe Forbes as 5 feet, 2 inches tall, weighing approximately 115 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information about her whereabouts is urged to contact the Metropolitan Police Department.
Aileen said nothing about her sister's life suggested she would voluntarily disappear. «Antoinette has a full, rich life,» she said. «She's an incredibly successful woman professionally, personally. She's a happy woman.» She described her sister as a devoted mother whose world revolved around her 10-year-old son, Nathan, and the family's dog, Max. Asked what she would say if her sister could hear her, Aileen responded, «Antoinette, you know how much we love you. You know who loves you. Keep the faith. We are not going to give up. We are going to bring you home.»
