The last day she was seen, Sept. 25, 2010, Nikki Lyn Forrest had two arguments in two Miami County cities.
The first was with a friend of her late mother. Forrest, 19, who had been somewhat transient during the prior year, had been staying at the woman’s home on Piqua’s Young Street. The argument was about the rules Forrest was to respect to stay there, and Forrest responded by packing her things and leaving, according to Piqua Police.
She also texted Tammy Weddington, her step-mother who had custody of her from the time she was 12. Weddington said Forrest indicated she was OK and that she and a friend were probably moving out-of-state.
It’s unknown how she travelled the eight miles to the northern part of Troy. but she arrived there later that same evening. She stopped by a girlfriend’s place on Trade Square West, then walked to the home of an ex-boyfriend about three blocks away. That man reported that they argued about her plans for the two of them to move away from the area. Then, while the two were in his driveway, a blue car picked her up and she left, he told police.
That sighting, on Sept. 25, 2010, is the last of Forrest, who was 4 and a half months pregnant. It was a high-risk pregnancy and she needed to take daily medication.
That medication was found days — it’s not exactly clear when — later in her shoulder bag, along with her identification card, a food stamp card and some other personal items. The people who found the bag saw the prescription issued by the pharmacy at the Covington Avenue Kroger in Piqua, and took it there. The pharmacy called Forrest’s emergency contact, who then contacted police.
Police have never identified the people who dropped off the bag and still hope they come forward. They told Kroger employees that they found the bag on a covered bridge on Eldean Road, off County Road 25-A, just north of Troy and five miles from where Forrest was last seen.
“We haven’t found any evidence of a crime scene yet,” Christy said. “Certainly we have treated it like a potential crime.”
Police have searched the areas around Eldean Road. They have contacted other states to check for birth records. They got Forrest’s cellular phone records, but it hasn’t been used since she vanished. A waitress at a Waffle House, Forrest never picked up her last paycheck.
Christy said that there were several people that he hoped would cooperate with police, including the ex-boyfriend, who stopped talking after making his initial statement. Thomas said that Forrest was not known to police before she went missing, but a number of her acquaintances were.
Weddington said she persuaded her ex-husband to give her custody after Forrest’s mother died and he appeared unable to handle her. She said that Forrest was a good student involved in band, choir and other activities, but when she turned 18, in November of her senior year, she announced that she no longer wanted to live with Weddington. She got into partying and the “Gothic people,” did not finish high school, but got her GED, Weddington said.
“I was trying to keep control as much as I could,” she said. “She didn’t want anyone telling her what to do.”
But even after she moved out, she still stayed in touch, which is why, Weddington said, her disappearance was so alarming.
Thomas said police will look into any information or tip.
“It’s been months since anyone has called in with even a bad tip,” he said. “It’s not just a missing person, it’s missing people, because she was pregnant.”
Anyone with information about the whereabouts of Nikki Lyn Forrest or the identies of the people dropped her bag off at Kroger should call Piqua Police at 937-778-2027.