I wouldn't recommend trying to transfer it without the owner's consent. This is considered a hijacking attempt and even though the domain is unlocked, I think it is bad form to try such a tactic. Your best bet is to keep trying to contact the owner. Have you tried writing a real letter and mailing it to the physical address listed in the whois profile?
The name could be available for you to backorder in the next 4-6 months, based on the expiration and any potential pending-delete cycle the name might go through.
Your best bet to get the name is through
Pool.com,
SnapNames, or
Enom's ClubDrop. If you really want to go after it, you can try to get it everywhere. So you could also add
GoDaddy,
BlueRazor, and
NameWinner to the list of services.
Now if the domain name is nothing special (no traffic, it isn't a one-word premium name, or name/phrase that receives a lot of searches), you could just choose to hand reg it on the day it drops and save a few bucks.
Good luck.
