Brother: Authorities told family that body of missing Missouri ER doctor was found in Arkansas

By LISA BAUMANN and JIM SALTER
Associated Press

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 was last heard from in text messages around 7 a.m. 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.

Messages left with the Missouri State Highway Patrol were not immediately returned.

Police said John Forsyth, 49, was reported missing when he failed to show up for work May 21 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 and other items 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 the 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.

“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.”