The former boyfriend of a Washington, DC, mother who vanished from her home without her phone, wallet or car has been detained in Pennsylvania as concern grows over her whereabouts.
Russell Ashford, 65, the father of missing woman Antoinette Forbes’ 10-year-old son, is being held in Beaver County on a warrant alleging that he violated his probation.
Forbes, 53, was last seen on September 4, when she disappeared from her home on Nebraska Avenue near American University.
Her dog, phones, wallet, laptop and vehicle were all left behind. The front door was reportedly unlocked.
Police have not identified Ashford as a suspect in Forbes’ disappearance, and he has not been charged in connection with her vanishing.
His detention relates instead to an alleged probation violation stemming from an earlier criminal case involving Forbes.
According to the warrant, Ashford breached the terms of his probation when he allegedly tried to pick up the couple’s son from summer camp at American University in July.
Court documents cited by Fox 5 say Ashford was convicted five years ago of severely assaulting Forbes at the Chevy Chase home they shared.
Antoinette Forbes, 53, pictured with her 10-year-old son, vanished from her Washington, DC, home on September 4 without her phone, wallet or car.
A neighbor stepped in during the attack and was credited with saving Forbes’ life.
Ashford was sentenced to 15 years in prison but spent only nine months behind bars.
This summer, his conviction was overturned and he was granted probation before judgment.
The terms of that probation barred Ashford from contacting Forbes or their son.
Former FBI agent Ken Gray stressed that Ashford’s detention is not directly tied to Forbes’ disappearance.
‘[Ashford] is not being charged with her disappearance,’ Gray told Fox 5. ‘He is being charged with a violation of his terms of release.
‘It’s not unusual for law enforcement to use violations like that to hold someone while investigators build a case and determine whether an arrest warrant is needed for more serious conduct involving Antoinette,’ he said.
Forbes’ disappearance has left her family searching for answers. They say the devoted mother would never willingly leave her son without explanation.
Forbes’ family has described her as a devoted mother who would never willingly leave her young son or disappear without warning
The corporate public relations executive, who worked for pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, had been preparing to travel to Florida with her sisters before she disappeared.
‘We’re in absolute shock and horror,’ her sister Aileen Forbes told CNN. ‘We have our own very close-knit immediate family, but we have a very large extended family. We’re horrified.’
Aileen became worried when her sister failed to respond ahead of a planned conversation.
Because she was ill, Aileen asked a nearby friend to check on Forbes at home.
The friend arrived to find the front door unlocked and Forbes missing. Her beloved dog, Max, was still inside.
‘[Her son] is Antoinette’s life,’ Aileen said. ‘Antoinette is a 100 percent solid, reliable, intelligent, competent woman who is a devoted mother.
‘She would never leave her son. She wouldn’t leave her dog. She wouldn’t leave her sister who needs her.’
According to her family, Forbes’ home is now being treated as a crime scene, and investigators have also examined her vehicle.
Her relatives have been barred from returning inside the property.
Forbes’ Nebraska Avenue home is being treated as a crime scene after the missing mother’s front door was reportedly found unlocked and her belongings left inside
Gray said the investigators’ actions showed the seriousness of the search, while emphasizing that the case remains classified as a missing-person investigation.
‘Whenever there’s a problem involving either spouses or, in this case, the father of her child, that person is always going to be a suspect in the case,’ he said.
‘They’re not at that point yet. This is a missing-person case, but it may develop into something else.’
He added: ‘Her house is being treated as a crime scene. Her car is being treated as a crime scene.’
Friends and relatives gathered at a church in Northwest DC over the weekend for a vigil as the search continued.
Despite the disturbing circumstances, Forbes’ family said they are holding on to hope that she will come home alive.
‘I am trying really hard not to even conceive of that because it would mean that my family is destroyed,’ Aileen told CNN.
‘I’m still trying very hard to keep the faith and the strong, steadfast belief I’ve had from the start that my sister is alive.’
Her family is urging anyone who may have seen Forbes or noticed anything unusual around the time she disappeared to contact investigators.
‘We need to know what happened,’ Aileen said. ‘Someone had to have seen something—anything, some small detail, seen her.’
Forbes is described as 5 feet 2 inches tall, with black hair and brown eyes.
