By Dianne Gallagher, Alaa Elassar

(CNN) — A terrified family is pleading for help in finding a woman who has been missing for nearly a week after she disappeared from her Washington, DC, home without her phones, wallet or car.

Antoinette Forbes, 53, a single mother of a young boy and a beloved sister, was last seen in person Friday, September 4, in the 3200 block of Nebraska Avenue NW, according to the Metropolitan Police Department, which has released a missing-person poster seeking the public’s help.

Police haven’t released any information about her son.

Forbes is an Asian woman, 5 feet 2 inches tall and about 115 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, police have said. Her clothing at the time is unknown.

Her family and friends say the circumstances of her disappearance are deeply alarming: Forbes’ two phones, wallet, laptop and car were all left behind at her home, along with her dog, Max. The front door was unlocked.

“We’re in absolute shock and horror,” Forbes’ older sister, Aileen Forbes, told CNN on Thursday. “We have our own very close-knit immediate family, but we have a very large extended family. We’re horrified.”

An investigation is active, police told CNN, declining to share further details.

About a half-million people were reported missing last year in the United States, including those who may have left voluntarily, missing minors, kidnapping victims and others, according to the FBI’s Crime Information Center.

Deciding how to proceed with searching for a missing person varies case to case, and sometimes race and news coverage play a role.

In the search for Antoinette Forbes, Aileen is holding onto hope and refuses to dwell on the worst-case scenarios, she said.

“I am trying really hard not to even conceive of that … because it would mean that my family is destroyed,” she said. “I’m still trying very hard to keep the faith and the strong, harsh belief that I’ve had from the start that my sister is alive.”

Elizabeth Northrup, a friend of Forbes’ with whom Aileen is staying as they search for her sister, told CNN they do not believe Forbes left her home voluntarily.

“(Law enforcement) certainly checked all the hospitals. We also have had friends check hospitals. She has not flown,” Northrup said. “She did not walk out of that house and go voluntarily.”

‘Something happened’

Just days before Antoinette Forbes was reported missing, the sisters had spoken on the phone as usual on weekend mornings, Aileen said.

She FaceTimed her sister on Saturday morning. They talked about their weekend and the week ahead — an ordinary conversation between two sisters who were especially close, she told CNN.

They planned to talk again the next day, but Aileen never heard from her, she said. As the days passed without contact, the family grew increasingly concerned. Aileen said she knew something was wrong when she reached out to her sister to tell her she had Covid-19 and did not receive a response.

“She’s a very busy woman. She’s got a full life,” Aileen said. “Single mother, highly successful professional.”

Forbes works as the associate vice president and head of public affairs at Eli Lilly, an American multinational pharmaceutical company, according to her LinkedIn. The company is supporting police efforts to find her and encouraged anyone with information to contact police, a spokesperson told CNN.

“We are deeply concerned for Antoinette and are thinking of her and her family in this uncertain time,” the spokesperson said. “We hope for her safe return.”

But above all, Aileen said, her sister is a mother of a 10-year-old boy.

“(He) is Antoinette’s life,” Aileen said. “Antoinette is a 100% 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.”

After days went by without a word, Aileen alerted family friends, Louis and Margarita, who live near Forbes’ home and have a key, to check on her, she said. That was Monday, Labor Day.

Margarita texted Aileen after entering the home.

“I think something happened,” the message said, according to Aileen.

“My heart stopped after I read that text,” she said. Louis then called and described what they found.

Inside, according to her friends and family, were Forbes’ two phones, including her work phone. So were her wallet and her laptop. Her car was in the driveway. Her dog, Max, was also at the house.

But Forbes was gone.

Police say investigation is active

Police declined to say whether Forbes’ home had surveillance cameras and whether investigators had reviewed any footage from the home or canvassed neighbors for video.

For Aileen, the waiting has become its own kind of torment.

“Today it’s getting harder,” she said. “We’re getting later into the week, and some of the dark reality is hitting me.”

But Forbes’ friends and family are not ready to give up hope, and they are asking anyone who may have seen something – however small – to come forward.

“We need to know what happened,” Aileen told CNN. “Someone had to have seen something, anything, some small thing, seen her. We need the evidence that’s going to enable the police to do their jobs and bring Antoinette home.”

The police department is asking anyone with information about Forbes’ whereabouts to call 202-727-9099 or text 50411.

This story has been updated.

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