(KOLR) – The body of Dr. John Forsyth, a Missouri ER doctor who went missing last week, has been found in northwest Arkansas, his family told Nexstar’s KOLR Tuesday night.
The Benton County Sheriff’s Department said an investigation is ongoing, but the body is believed to be that of Forsyth’s pending an autopsy and final identification.
Forsyth vanished over a week ago. He was last seen at 7 a.m. on Sunday, May 21, before failing to show up for work at Mercy Hospital in Cassville, Missouri. His vehicle was later located at the Cassville Aquatic Center.
Detectives said several agencies spent hours searching the area of the Cassville Aquatic Park using K-9s and a thermal-imaging drone, but investigators were unable to find any evidence at that time.
“I don’t know why my brother is missing. I don’t know why he would leave behind his wallet, his passport, his checkbook, his keys, and an unlocked car,” his brother Richard Forsyth had previously told KOLR.
Speaking with the Associated Press earlier on Tuesday, 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 Forsyth 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 the future.”
Richard Forsyth and his family had also been trying to shut down rumors surrounding Dr. Forsyth’s disappearance while it was gaining national attention.
“We’ve gathered together a great deal of data sorting through what is potentially relevant or even factual has been challenging,” he told KOLR.
Those rumors include the notion that a court order for child support and alimony totaling nearly $20,000 were a motive in John’s disappearance, but Richard Forsyth said the money “was not a concern.”
Another unfounded rumor surrounded a cryptocurrency company that the two brothers launched together — but Richard Forsyth shot that down, too.
He did, however, say there was one person who they believed was upset his brother, but that individual was overseas. Richard Forsyth is also is confident that the isolated incident is not relevant to the investigation.
“He expressed some extreme emotions towards us that he would get revenge. And ultimately his campaign failed, and we didn’t hear from him again,” Richard said. “I don’t see that being enough motivation for someone to cross the Atlantic and cause trouble.”
Richard Forsyth said his brother had been working at the Cassville hospital for about 15 years. He described John Forsyth as a doting father, family physician and part-time math nerd.
“He really cared about his patients,” Richard Forsyth said, adding that his brother stayed in his RV near the hospital when he was on-call. “And he loved his kids.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.