The Disappearance and Murder of Amy Drake

Source: maine.gov

Amy Drake was found murdered in Norridgewock, Maine on November 24th, 2006. That day, hunters were scouring a wooded area near the Norridgewock - Skowhegan town line when they discovered human remains. It was immediately suspected that the remains belonged to Amy, who had been reported missing approximately two months earlier. 

Shortly thereafter, it was confirmed that the body was, in fact, that of Amy Drake. She was only 18 years-old at the time of her death. Detectives quickly classified her manner of death as a homicide, but her exact cause of death has never been revealed. 

Reports state that Amy was reported missing by her mother, Norma Drake, on September 20th, 2006. Norma told detectives that Amy often spent time in Skowhegan at the home of her boyfriend, Jason Forbus. Due to this, it was not unusual for Norma to go a day or two without seeing Amy - but they still spoke every day via phone or some other means of contact. 

After four days passed without any contact from Amy, Norma grew worried and reported her daughter's disappearance to police. Authorities called Amy's disappearance suspicious, especially since many of her personal items were left behind. Many people were questioned, including Jason Forbus and the father of Amy's then-2-year-old, but police were seemingly unable to find anything that led to her whereabouts. 

Detectives initially stated that they did not have any evidence that foul play caused Amy's disappearance. After her remains were found, detectives obviously changed their tune and classified her death as a homicide. At this point, several years have passed and many questions remain unanswered. Namely: What really happened to Amy? Will there ever be enough evidence to make an arrest?

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Before Amy's disappearance.

source: Facebook

Amy was only 18 years-old when she vanished. Her remains were found shortly after her 19th birthday. 

According to various friends and family members, Amy struggled with addiction before her disappearance. In December 2006, a friend told reporters that Amy "had descended into a life of drugs and hung out with the wrong crowd." However, as previously noted, Amy still kept in touch her with mother every single day. 

Additionally, various reports and online speculation indicate that Amy was in an abusive relationship at the time of her disappearance. In July 2006, Jason Forbus was arrested on domestic violence charges after reportedly assaulting Amy. He eventually pleaded guilty to the charges.

Forbus was given a six-month sentence in September 2006 - however he was not required to report to jail until October 9th, 2006. Therefore, he was still free at the time Amy vanished. 

Amy also had a young child who was only two years old at the time of Amy's disappearance. While some reports refer to Jason Forbus as the father of this child, people close to Amy have contradicted this and stated that the father is a different man who had custody of the child and lived with his parents. 

In 2023, a friend of Amy's posted about her murder on the Cold Cases subreddit. The friend wrote that Amy vanished after leaving her residence in September 2006. The friend also seemingly confirmed that Jason Forbus was due in court right around the time of Amy's disappearance.

Source: Reddit

Commenters on the post asked about the person with whom Amy left their friend's house. The friend replied, "that person just dropped her off at the end of the street so the cops eliminated him as a suspect pretty quickly."

The homicide investigation.

Amy's case was shifted to a homicide investigation after her remains were found. Unfortunately, the case grew cold case as years passed without any arrests. In 2018, it was reported that "police have interviewed a suspect in the past but stopped short of naming any persons of interests in the case."

The general consensus locally and online over the years is that Jason Forbus is responsible for Amy's murder. He has never been charged with anything related the homicide case. It's been speculated that police simply have not been able to collect enough evidence to make an arrest.

Where the case stands today.

Amy's murder remains unsolved. Her loved ones are still fighting to find justice.

If you have any information that could help solve Amy's murder, please contact investigators at the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit at (207) 624-7143.

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Sources:
13 WGME
Central Maine
Murder She Told
Reddit
Tapatalk
Uncovered