A former partner of a missing Washington, D.C., mother was arrested in Pennsylvania on an out-of-state probation warrant, police said.
Russell Ashford was arrested over the weekend on a Montgomery County, Maryland warrant for an alleged probation violation, authorities said.
Ashford is being held in Pennsylvania while investigators continue searching for Antoinette Forbes, the mother of his 10-year-old son, police said.
The violation was triggered after Ashford allegedly traveled outside Pennsylvania, where supervision of his probation had been transferred, authorities said.
License plate readers helped authorities track the suspect’s truck, officials said.
The couple’s 10-year-old son was with Ashford when officers arrested him, police said.
Ashford has not been arrested or charged in connection with Forbes’ disappearance, police stressed.
Forbes has now been missing for more than a week after disappearing from her Northwest D.C. home near American University, police said. Her family has gone 11 days without knowing where she is, according to the report.
Forbes left behind her phones, wallet, keys, vehicle and dog, her family said. Relatives described that departure as completely out of character, family members said.
The D.C. police Homicide Major Crimes Unit is now leading the case, according to a source close to the investigation.
Investigators are treating the disappearance as suspicious, the source said. Publicly, the search for the missing mother remains ongoing, police said.
Ashford has a documented history involving Forbes, court records show.
The suspect was convicted of assaulting Forbes in 2021, court records show.
Ashford told a responding officer he had “just beat up his ex,” according to the probable-cause statement.
Forbes suffered multiple facial fractures, a concussion and other injuries after Ashford repeatedly assaulted her, records state. The assault occurred while their young son was inside the home, records state.
An emergency custody order subsequently granted Forbes sole custody of the child, court records show.
The initial order prohibited Ashford from contacting Forbes or their child, court records show.
The custody arrangement was later modified in 2024 to permit unsupervised parenting time, court records show.
By January 2025, an attorney for Forbes was accusing Ashford of violating boundaries established by the custody order, records show.
The attorney alleged that Ashford entered Forbes’ home after being told not to, court records state.
Authorities from D.C., Maryland and Pennsylvania were involved in investigative activity surrounding Ashford’s arrest, officials said.
That investigative activity over the weekend included obtaining search warrants, police said.
Ashford’s only publicly confirmed reason for being jailed is the alleged probation violation stemming from the prior case, authorities said. No one has been charged with harming Forbes, police said.
Ashford is being held in the Beaver County Jail pending extradition proceedings, records show.
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