Former detectives explain what officials look for as search for missing DC mom continues

Five days after a D.C. mother last had contact with her family, there are still more questions than answers about what happened to her.

Search efforts and public alert

Police say Antoinette Forbes, 53, was last seen Friday afternoon at her home in the 3200 block of Nebraska Avenue Northwest.

Her family says they were still in contact with her Saturday morning. But since then, silence.

Forbes is the mother of a 10 year old boy, and her family says she would never leave him without telling anyone where she was going.

And inside her home, the things she left behind have them worried. Her keys and wallet. Both of her cellphones. Her car in the driveway.

The door unlocked. And her dog inside.

RELATED: Missing woman's phone, keys and purse found inside her DC home 7News spoke with two former Metropolitan Police Department investigators about what detectives typically look for when an adult suddenly disappears and what may be happening behind the scenes.

Search and investigation

Jim Trainum spent 27 years with MPD, including 17 years investigating homicides. Trainum has no inside knowledge of the Forbes investigation.