A 53-year-old single mother has been missing for days after vanishing from her Northwest Washington, D.C. home, leaving behind her car, her purse, her cellphones and her dog. Antoinette Forbes was last seen on Friday, September 4 at approximately 3 p.m. near the 3200 block of Nebraska Avenue NW, close to the American University campus, according to a Metropolitan Police Department notice.
Forbes, described by police as an Asian woman of Filipino descent standing 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighing approximately 115 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, was reported missing under case number 26-127-438, as reported by The MoCo Show. The Metropolitan Police Department posted a missing person notice for Forbes on X, and patrol cars were seen in front of her home on Tuesday, according to WJLA. Forbes previously lived in Montgomery County, Maryland, before moving to Northwest D.C.
An Unsettling Scene At Her Home
Friends say Forbes last texted one of them on the morning of Saturday, September 5. When a friend later checked on her residence, they found the front door unlocked, her car still parked in the driveway, and her keys, cellphones, wallet and purse left inside, according to a post on r/washingtondc. Her dog, Max, was found alone in the house, per the outlet's report.
The station's report notes that Forbes's sister, Aileen Forbes, had spoken with her days before she disappeared. The two had been planning a Christmas vacation together and were set to finalize their flights the following day, Aileen Forbes said, per the same account. Aileen Forbes has since appealed directly to the public, saying she hopes her sister will be found.
A Mother, A Career, Three Decades In D.C.
Forbes is a public affairs executive who was born in New York and has lived in the Washington, D.C. area for more than 30 years, according to a community appeal shared on r/washingtondc. She is a single mother raising a 10-year-old son named Nathan, whom the station's report describes as the center of her world. Aileen Forbes told the outlet that her sister is a single mother devoted to raising her son.
What Police Say About Reporting And Response
The Nebraska Avenue NW corridor where Forbes was last seen runs through Upper Northwest D.C., directly adjacent to the American University campus, an area that sees heavy daily pedestrian and vehicle traffic, per The MoCo Show. It remains unclear whether nearby traffic or security cameras have captured any of Forbes's movements, or whether investigators have completed forensic checks on her vehicle or devices.
Police have not publicly stated whether the case has been formally classified as involving suspected foul play. Under Metropolitan Police Department guidelines, a missing individual is designated a “critical missing person” if they are under 15, over 65, or deemed at-risk by a patrol watch commander due to factors like mental incapacitation, imminent danger, or suspected foul play, according to department policy. Officers accept missing person reports immediately, with no mandatory 24- or 48-hour waiting period before an investigation begins.
How Common — And How Rare — Cases Like This Are
D.C. Metropolitan Police records document 2,192 total reported missing person cases across the District so far in 2026, made up of 1,660 juvenile reports and 532 adult reports, according to department statistics. Despite that volume, open adult missing person cases are unusual: as of early September, the department tracked only five open adult critical missing cases and zero open adult non-critical cases from this year's reports. The department maintains a historical closure rate exceeding 99 percent for missing persons cases across the District, meaning the vast majority of reports are resolved before reaching this stage.
Anyone with information about Forbes's whereabouts is asked to contact the Metropolitan Police Department's Youth and Family Engagement Division at 202-576-6768, the Real Time Crime Center at 202-727-9099, or send an anonymous tip by text to 50411.
