The Missouri ER doctor who vanished last week after texting his new fiancée that he would see her in “a little bit” was found dead on Tuesday, family and authorities said.
Dr. John Forsyth, was reported missing on May 21 after he failed to show up for his 7 p.m. shift at Mercy Hospital in Cassville — the first shift he skipped without notice in over a decade. The uncharacteristic behavior prompted his employer to alert the cops.
Forsyth’s bother, Richard Forsyth, confirmed to The Post in an email late Tuesday that authorities recovered his sibling’s body.
“We’re in shock. I suspect foul play,” Richard told Fox News, adding that the family is expecting to learn more about the circumstances of his death on Wednesday. The 49-year-old’s body was recovered in northwest Arkansas, his brother said.
The 49-year-old’s body was discovered in Benton County, Arkansas, Captain James Smith of the Cassville Police Department told The Post.
The closest part of Benton County to Cassville is still about 20 miles away from where Forsyth went missing.
The body is believed to be Forsyth, pending autopsy and official identification, Smith said.
John, a devoted health care professional and father of seven, worked at the same hospital for 15 years. His brother and employer both said he never missed a day of work or showed up late.
“Dr. Forsyth has never missed a shift without notifying us in the past, so when he failed to arrive for his scheduled shift, and we were unable to reach him, we became concerned and alerted authorities,” the hospital said before the news of his death.
What to know about Dr. John Forsyth's mysterious death
Dr. John Forsyth’s body was found by a kayaker in an Arkansas lake — about an hour south of where he was last seen in Cassville, Missouri — with what appeared to be a gunshot wound, the Benton County Sheriff’s Office said in a release.
The 49-year-old doctor was first reported missing on May 21 after he failed to show up for his shift at Mercy Hospital, something that was out of character for the father of seven, according to his loved ones.
The last person believed to have been in contact with John was his new fiancée, whom he texted at 7 a.m.
The doctor got engaged three days before his disappearance and several days after he finalized his divorce from his first wife.
Officials have not shared the location of the wound or whether they believe Forsyth’s death was a suicide.
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Richard echoed the hospital’s sentiment, telling the Daily Beast that it was entirely out of character for his brother to miss work.
“He wouldn’t miss a shift even if his eyeballs were hanging out of their sockets,” he said. “It was an immediate red flag.”
The last person believed to have been in contact with John was his new fiancée, whom he texted at about 7 a.m. after his shift was over to tell her he’d see her “a little bit later.” He then suddenly stopped responding to her messages. She has not been identified.
Video surveillance caught the doctor walking to his luxury RV, where he stayed in the hospital parking lot during his shifts. Police later located his Infiniti about 700 feet from the Cassville Aquatic Center entrance at a yard waste site.
Inside the vehicle, authorities found his passport, wallet and two phones, along with the keys to his RV and car.
His RV was also left unlocked, which Richard also called “very uncharacteristic.”
Extensive searches of the 90-acre wooded area around where authorities discovered his car turned up empty.
According to his brother, the beloved doctor got engaged three days before his disappearance and several days after he finalized his divorce from his first wife.
An uncontested divorce settlement was issued on May 11 that awarded his ex about $19,000 a month in alimony and child support, Richard said.
The discovery of the body is being investigated by the Benton County Sheriff’s Department.
The Cassville Police Department has offered to assist in the investigation.
