A missing emergency room doctor from Missouri whose body was found in northwestern Arkansas died from an apparent gunshot wound, authorities said Wednesday, but they're still investigating what happened in the week since he was last seen.
A kayaker found the body of Dr. John Forsyth, 49, on Tuesday afternoon in Beaver Lake, a large reservoir in Arkansas, the Benton County Sheriff's Office said. No further information would immediately be available, authorities said, and they did not specify if the gunshot wound may have been caused by someone else or was self-inflicted.
The doctor's unlocked vehicle was found near an aquatic park in Cassville, the town in the Missouri Ozarks where he worked, with his wallet, two phones, a laptop and other items inside, his brother Richard Forsyth said in an interview. Police told the family there were no signs of foul play.
The last known person who communicated with John Forsyth was the woman he’d recently gotten engaged to, who texted with him at around 7 a.m. on Sunday, May 21, his brother said. Police said he failed to show up at work later that day.
The last time the two brothers met in person was at dinner on Wednesday, May 17.
“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 the future,” Richard Forsyth said.
The body was found in the Lost Bridge South area of Beaver Lake, which is about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Cassville, police said.
Messages left Wednesday with the Benton County Sheriff’s Office and the Missouri State Highway Patrol were not immediately returned.
John Forsyth had worked at Mercy Hospital in Cassville for about 15 years, his brother said, describing him as a doting father, part-time math nerd and dedicated physician who stayed in his RV near the hospital when he was on-call.
“He really cared about his patients,” Richard Forsyth said. “And he loved his kids.”
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.
“My brother has now been missing for week,” his sister, Tiffany Andelin, wrote Monday. “I’m grieving, I’m afraid, and it feels like the world has tipped into sheer chaos.”
