JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Foul play is not suspected after a South Carolina man reported missing last week was found dead in Jacksonville, authorities confirmed Friday.
The body of Christopher Forbes was found Thursday in a vacant house off Youngerman Circle, and his truck was also located, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office told News4Jax on Friday.
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The Medical Examiner’s Office determined there was no evidence of foul play, according to police.
Forbes, 48, was reported missing on Jan. 3, according to a JSO missing persons report. Forbes’ sister told police he did not show up for work that day and she hadn’t heard from him since Christmas Eve.
Forbes had been in Jacksonville working a construction job and was living downtown, according to the missing persons report.
His wife, Crystal Forbes, spoke with South Carolina news outlet WCSC
“He’s known to me as ‘Country,’ not Christopher or Chris but Country,” Crystal Forbes told a WCSC reporter. “Country don’t miss work. He can be sick and he’ll still be at work. So that was not normal.”
Forbes’ apartment manager told police she last saw him the day before he was reported missing and his sister said his ATM card was used twice that same day, according to the report. The report said Forbes told his apartment manager on Jan. 2 that he was going to get dinner, but he never returned.
The report said he drove 22 minutes from downtown to a 121 Financial Credit Union on the Westside near Youngerman Circle. He withdrew $160 from an ATM at 6:11 p.m., and then made a charge by phone at 8 p.m. to an 877 number, used to pay for communication service to anyone in jail. It’s unclear why.
In the meantime, his grieving widow is remembering him. “He’s got a personality that radiates and a smile that lights up the whole room,” Crystal Forbes said. “He’s a good-hearted man.”