Portland Press Herald (Maine)
September 28, 2009 Monday
Three years after death, killer still unidentified;
Police say people have information they haven't reported about the 2006 slaying of Amy Drake.
It has been three years since Amy Drake of Skowhegan disappeared without taking her purse or even a change of clothes.
Drake, then 18, was reported missing by her mother, Norma Drake, on Sept. 24, 2006, according to police.
Two months later, deer hunters found her body in an area of woods and fields off River Road in Norridgewock, some two miles from the Skowhegan town line.
DNA was used to positively identify Drake.
State police investigators ruled her death a homicide. Drake, who would have turned 19 on Nov. 22 of that year, left behind a 2-year-old child, Torence Drake.
No one has been charged with her murder.
During Amy Drake's funeral, the Rev. Mark Tanner of the Federated Church in Skowhegan asked her family and friends to be vigilant in finding her killer.
''We all have a job to do,'' Tanner said. ''We have a responsibility to one another. We have a responsibility to our young people, and to the ones around us - to keep our eyes open.
''The voices that God has given us are voices that allow us to speak. Some of the worst mistakes we can make as people are to keep our mouths closed.''
State police detectives share the vigilance Tanner described three years ago, said Lt. Gary Wright. The Drake case remains an active investigation, he said.
''We continue to follow up on any lead that comes in on it. We're still reviewing the evidence that we have collected in the last couple of years,'' Wright said.
Wright said the primary investigator, Detective Chris Tremblay, returns to the Skowhegan area, re-interviewing people police already have talked to, hoping someone will come forward and help.
He said Detective Sgt. Daniel Summers of the Skowhegan Police Department also remains active in the investigation.
''Even as recently as the past couple of weeks, we have had some information come in from various sources, and they're following up on that to see if there is any viability to the information,'' Wright said.
The manner of Drake's death has not been released.
''Manner of death is always an issue that we withhold. We feel it's very important. That kind of information can make or break the case, and what we don't want to do is put information out there that could take away the possibility of narrowing down our focus on individuals,'' Wright said.
Drake called or visited her mother in Skowhegan every day before her disappearance, Summers said.
Drake also would spend time at the home of her boyfriend, Jason Forbus, who lived on South Factory Street in Skowhegan, Summers said Friday.
Forbus, now 34, was sentenced in late September 2006 to a six-month jail term for assaulting Drake. He had been released after pleading guilty to a domestic assault against Drake, and he had not yet started his sentence when she was last seen, police said.
He also was required to serve two years' probation after his release.
Court records showed that Forbus had contact with Drake after his arrest in connection with the July 2 incident, in violation of his bail conditions.
At his sentencing, however, Forbus was given a stay that allowed him to remain free until Oct. 9.
Wright and Summers said anyone with information on Drake's death is urged to call state police at 624-7143, or go to the state police Web site,
www.maine.gov/dps/msp, click on ''criminal investigations'' and then the box to report a crime.
''We feel there are several people out there who have pertinent information that has not been brought forward,'' Wright said.
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