The body of a Missouri emergency room doctor has been found in northwest Arkansas more than a week after he went missing, according to his family.
Dr John Forsyth was last heard from in text messages around 7am on 21 May. His brother, Richard Forsyth, said authorities called the family on Tuesday night to inform them that his brother was found dead.
Police said he 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.
“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 authorities were quoted as saying by the New York Post.
His black Infiniti was found unlocked in a remote area near an aquatic park in Cassville with his wallet, two phones and a laptop inside.
“It doesn’t seem like a person who left with a plan,” his brother said earlier. “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.”
“He wouldn’t miss a shift even if his eyeballs were hanging out of their sockets,” the younger brother told The Daily Beast. “It was an immediate red flag.”
Raising suspicions of foul play, he added: “John’s RV was found unlocked [at the hospital], which is very uncharacteristic. His cellphones were inside, which is also very uncharacteristic because he always has his cellphone.”
“My brother is missing. If anyone knows anything, please contact us,” his sister Tiffany Andelin Forsyth wrote in Facebook post on 22 May, as she shared pictures of him. “I’m so worried, I’m a mess. That’s all I can say right now.”
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.
Earlier, his brother said the last person Dr Forsyth texted with was a woman to whom he 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,” he 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.”
Police have said there were no signs of foul play.
