CASSVILLE, Missouri — The body of a Missouri emergency room doctor who has been missing for more than a week has been found in Northwest Arkansas, his brother told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Dr. John Forsyth, 49 was last heard from in text messages around 7 a.m. on May 21. His brother, Richard Forsyth, said authorities called the family Tuesday night to say his brother was found deceased. He said he and other family members were waiting for more details from detectives.
Police said the doctor was reported missing when he failed to show up for work later that day at Mercy Hospital in Cassville, a town of 3,100 residents deep in the Missouri Ozarks.
His black Infiniti was found parked in a remote area near an aquatic park in Cassville. The car was unlocked with his wallet, two phones and a laptop inside.
“It doesn’t seem like a person who left with a plan,” Richard Forsyth told the AP earlier Tuesday. “Right now, we really don’t have any breaks in the case. I’m confused, and I’m worried. And I don’t like this one bit.”
Several law enforcement agencies, including the Missouri State Highway Patrol, searched about a 9-mile radius around the park using people, dogs and drones. Forsyth’s family set up a Facebook page seeking information.
“My brother has now been missing for week. I’m grieving, I’m afraid, and it feels like the world has tipped into sheer chaos,” his sister, Tiffany Andelin, wrote Monday.
Richard Forsyth said the last person his brother texted with was a woman to whom his brother had recently gotten engaged. The last time Richard saw him was a few days before he went missing.
“We had dinner Wednesday before he disappeared, and we sat and talked for three hours,” Richard Forsyth said. “I told him this is the happiest I’d seen him in a long time. His divorce was final May 11, and I think that gave him energy for future.”
Phone and email messages left Tuesday with Cassville police were not immediately returned. Police have said there were no signs of foul play.
Richard Forsyth said his brother had been at the Cassville hospital for about 15 years. He described John Forsyth as a doting father, family physician and part-time math nerd.
Richard Forsyth said the family was mystified by his brother's death and rejected the theory that he might have taken his own life.
“I don’t believe it,” he said. “John would never do that. I won’t accept that possibility.”
John Forsyth was the father of eight children, his brother said, and was so dedicated to his work that he never missed a day, stayed in an RV near the hospital when he was on call, and was never late for his difficult shifts in the emergency room.
Messages seeking comment from the Missouri State Highway Patrol and Cassville police on Wednesday were not immediately returned.
When the doctor's vehicle was found, several law enforcement agencies searched about a 9-mile (15-kilometer) radius around the aquatic park using people, dogs and drones. Forsyth's family set up a Facebook page seeking information.
Gina Forsyth-Farlaino said her brother was smart, confident, loved to help people and was devoted to his family. In the days since his disappearance, she said the family has heard at least three stories of people who he persuaded not to take their own lives. But Forsyth never mentioned those cases to his family, she recalled in an interview Wednesday from Price, Utah.
“I miss him terribly,” Forsyth-Farlaino said. “And I’m devastated that he’s not here.”
Richard Forsyth also says that authorities told him that they are investigating his brother's death as a homicide. Richard Forsyth also stated that Missouri authorities were also investigating the man's sudden disappearance in the time leading up to his death.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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