Missing Missouri emergency room doctor found dead in Arkansas

CASSVILLE, Mo. (TCD) -- Officials in Arkansas reportedly located the body of a missing doctor who disappeared over a week ago and left his belongings in his unlocked car.

Forty-nine-year-old John Forsyth was last seen May 21 at approximately 7 a.m. and was reported missing when he failed to show up to work at Mercy Hospital. Officers later found his car at a park in Cassville.

KOLR-TV reports Forsyth’s body was discovered May 30 in Benton County, Arkansas. He had died from an apparent gunshot wound. According to KOLR, a kayaker in Lost Bridge South Park found Forsyth’s body in the water.

Video footage from the area reportedly shows Forsyth at approximately 7:15 a.m. walking around near the Cassville Aquatic Park the day he disappeared. Forsyth’s keys, wallet, passport, and checkbook were inside the unlocked vehicle, which was still parked at the aquatic center.

Cassville Police combed through the aquatic park but didn’t find him.

Forsyth’s brother, Richard Forsyth, told KOLR he was trying to quell rumors surrounding John’s disappearance, including talk that he owed $20,000 in child support and ran into problems with his cryptocurrency company.

Richard said there was one person who "expressed some extreme emotions towards us that he would get revenge," but that person’s "campaign failed, and we didn’t hear from him again."

That person reportedly lives in another country, and Richard did not think that was "enough motivation for someone to cross the Atlantic and cause trouble."

According to the Daily Beast, John got engaged earlier this month following his divorce. Richard told The Daily Beast the emergency room physician was "really happy and excited" at a recent dinner.

Richard said, "Nothing seemed weird, which makes John vanishing that much weirder."

John reportedly texted his fiancée May 21 at approximately 7 a.m. and told her his shift was over and he would see her "a little bit later."

Then, he stopped responding.

Richard said of his brother, "He wouldn’t miss a shift even if his eyeballs were hanging out of their sockets. It was an immediate red flag."

MORE:

• Missing Person - Cassville Police Department
• Missing Cassville doctor’s body found in northwest Arkansas, autopsy pending - KOLR
• Missing Cassville doctor found dead from apparent gunshot wound - KOLR
• Missouri ER Doc Just Vanished—and His Frantic Family Is Baffled - Daily Beast