WASHINGTON (7News) — A man with the same name and date of birth as the father of missing D.C. mother Antoinette Forbes’ child has been taken into custody in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, officials said.
Beaver County Jail officials confirm Russell Ashford is in their custody, but would not confirm what the charges are, only telling 7News he is “wanted somewhere else.”
D.C. police have not publicly identified Ashford as a suspect or person of interest, or whether the Pennsylvania arrest is connected to Forbes’ disappearance.
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Ashford’s arrest is the latest development to emerge as relatives and friends continue searching for Forbes, a 53-year-old mother who disappeared more than a week ago.
Forbes’ family did not comment on the arrest, but sent the following statement to 7News:
Antoinette has been missing since Saturday, September 5. She is a mother, a sister and a friend, and she would not walk away from her son by choice.Last night Antoinette’s friends and colleagues stood beside each other at National Presbyterian Church. The candles, the prayers, the GoFundMe, the flyers going up across the city, all of it is carrying the family forward right now. Thank you.We are asking you not to stop. If you were near the 3200 block of Nebraska Avenue NW the weekend of September 4, if you saw Antoinette, if you have doorbell or dashcam footage from those days, please call the Metropolitan Police Department at 202-727-9099 or text 50411. No detail is too small to share.We want Antoinette home.
In an interview just days after Forbes was last seen, her sister told 7News her disappearance made no sense.
“She’s my beloved sister, a beloved daughter and mother, colleague, friend. We want her to come home. Please come forward if you know anything,” Aileen Forbes said in a tearful plea. “Antoinette is a single mother and her son, her 10-year-old son, Nathan is her world. Nathan is the center of Antoinette’s world. She would never, ever leave him.”
Forbes was last seen Sept. 4 in the 3200 block of Nebraska Avenue NW, near American University, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. Her family remained in contact with her the following day, but a friend contacted police after communication stopped.
A friend who went to Forbes’ Spring Valley home found her phones, keys, wallet and purse inside. Her car remained outside, and her dog, Max, was alone in the house. Investigators were later seen spending hours inside the property and speaking with neighbors. Police have not disclosed whether they found evidence or developed new leads during their work at the home.
Forbes is the mother of a 10-year-old boy.
A family spokesperson told 7News Forbes’ son is safe.
Court documents outline the contentious years-long custody battle between Forbes and Ashford over their child.
The filings also reveal Ashford was convicted of assaulting Forbes in 2021, with Forbes suffering broken bones to her face and jaw.
A judge handed down a 15-year suspended prison sentence, which allowed Ashford to be out on the streets on supervised probation for five years.
In the midst of efforts to find Forbes, friends gathered Saturday to call attention to the disappearance and express hope that Forbes will be found safely.
Alison Williams, who has known Forbes for nearly 30 years, described her as a loyal friend with a distinctive sense of humor and style.
“It’s heartbreaking because I’m afraid she doesn’t have that smile on her face now,” Williams said. “Please speak up. It doesn’t matter how small piece of information you may have or think you may have. Everything is so critical at this juncture in getting her back safely.”
Rachel Clark, another longtime friend, said the group is supporting Forbes’ family and refusing to give up.
“It has been incomprehensible. She would never up and leave. Obviously, the things that have been left behind is suspicious,” Clark said. “When you are just sitting and waiting, and hoping, and wanting more information and someone to come forward, and say something they might have seen or that they might know, it’s agonizing.”
MPD describes Forbes as 5 feet, 2 inches tall and about 115 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. Her clothing at the time of her disappearance is unknown.
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Police have not announced an arrest or publicly named a suspect in her disappearance.
Anyone who saw Forbes or noticed suspicious activity around her home is asked to call D.C. police at 202-727-9099 or text a tip to 50411.