Brother of ER doctor whose body was found in Arkansas Lake says police are treating death as homicide
The brother of an ER doctor and crypto millionaire found dead in a lake has said police are treating the death as homicide and that he had planned to visit one of his daughters a few days after his disappearance.
Dr. John Forsyth, 49, was reported missing on May 21 when he failed to show up for his 7 p.m. shift at Mercy Hospital in Cassville, Missouri.
His body was found nine days later in an Arkansas lake, and police confirmed he had been shot.
Speaking to DailyMail.com, his brother Richard said they had dinner several days before his disappearance and that his behavior prior to his death was not “the actions of a person who commits suicide.”
Forsyth is pictured here with his pregnant fiancé Laura Barnett who said in a social media post that she was ‘heartbroken’ over his disappearance
His brother Richard told DailyMail.com that his behavior prior to his death was not “the actions of a person committing suicide.”
His body was found near the shore across from the Lost Bridge South area of Beaver Lake, about 20 miles south of Cassville, police said.
He said, “On May 17, which was four days before my brother went missing, he and I ate for three hours. We had, I think in hindsight, a very long goodbye.
“It was at that dinner he told me about [his fiancée] Laura, and that he was very happy to have found her and that they were very much in love. And I congratulated him.
“He really seems to have found something that made them happy. And I told him I was just really happy about that. And he was very optimistic about the future
On the Monday after his disappearance, he had a plane ticket scheduled to fly to one of his daughters, whom he hasn’t seen in a while, to reconnect with a friend.
‘They had concrete plans, he and I had plans. I know what kind of person he was, he was driven, passionate. These are not the actions of someone who commits suicide. I don’t believe this was suicide.’
Richard also told DailyMail.com that homicide detectives have been called in to investigate the case.
He continued, “The police don’t share much, but the homicide detectives working on this case are still working on this case, as a homicide case.
“And this is post-autopsy. That’s not the police telling me anything definitive, but it doesn’t take much to connect those dots.’
Forsyth was last seen on surveillance footage walking to a motor home he parked in the hospital parking lot around 7 a.m. and texted his fiancée to tell her he would see her later.
In an eerie new image, his stethoscope can be seen dangling around the rearview mirror of his Infiniti sedan
Shortly after he was reported missing, authorities found his black sedan abandoned at the Cassville Aquatic Park in the Ozarks
Shortly thereafter, a sprawling 90-acre search was conducted by the Cassville Police Department, which yielded no results until a kayaker found his body last month
Forsyth disappeared on May 21 after leaving Mercy Hospital, Missouri, just ten days after he reportedly separated from his wife
Relatives were immediately alarmed by his disappearance after he was found to have left his wallet, passport, five mobile phones, laptop and keys in his unlocked RV and car.
At the time of his death, many family members were unaware that Forsyth was engaged to 39-year-old Laura Barnett.
Many were kept in the dark about his relationship with Barnett, who is eight months pregnant, and some only found out she existed after the tragedy.
It is not known how the couple met, but Barnett’s LinkedIn profile shows that she worked as an ER nurse at the same hospital.
She has not commented since he was found dead, with relatives telling DailyMail.com that she is “devastated” by his death.
Barnett had only publicly posted photos of the pair together after he disappeared, and the pair got engaged just three days before he was last seen alive.
Richard told Dailymail.com: “We’ll let her talk about that when she’s ready. I can tell she’s having a really hard time, as anyone would suspect, which has been a very, very challenging for her.”
Forsyth is pictured here, his pregnant fiancé Laura Barnett, who he told his brother Richard was the “love of his life”
His brother Richard told DailyMail.com that she was the “love of his life,” and other family members said he officially divorced his wife on May 11.
Authorities found his black Infiniti sedan abandoned at the Cassville Aquatic Park in the Ozarks. The car keys were inside, along with Forsyth’s wallet, passport, and briefcase.
Shortly afterward, a sprawling 200-acre search was conducted by the Cassville Police Department, yielding no results until a kayaker found his body last month.
The body was found near the bank across from the Lost Bridge South area of Beaver Lake, about 20 miles south of Cassville.
New photos show officers searching across the lake where his body was found, a stethoscope hanging eerily from the rearview mirror of his car.
Sheriff’s Divers search Beaver Lake, Arkansas, for clues to Forsyth’s suspected murder
The body was found near the bank across from the Lost Bridge South area of Beaver Lake, about 20 miles south of Cassville.
It has since been alleged that the doctor had as many as five cell phones in his black vehicle, of which his family said they knew of at least two – one each for his private and work life.
In a bizarre revelation, Richard previously revealed that his brother was kidnapped and threatened by unknown assailants in February 2022.
Richard, who co-founded the crypto company OnFo with his brother, said that despite the terrifying ordeal, John never filed a police report.
He said he first learned about the kidnapping through a mutual friend, who only came forward to describe the incident to the family after John went missing under mysterious circumstances.
Pictured: Dr. Forsyth’s family; second from left Dixie Andelin Forsyth (mother) and next to her Robert Duane Forsyth (father), Richard Forsyth (brother) in the center, surrounded by his sisters
The brother said he believed the kidnapping was “crypto-related” but knew nothing else about the perpetrators from the mutual friend’s account, who wished to remain anonymous due to ongoing security concerns.
Richard cautioned there was no evidence yet to link the 2022 incident to John’s death, but added: “It stands out very strongly in the tables of facts that have emerged on the case.”
‘It was cold. He was tied up. He felt very unsafe and was taken to a bridge with some people and threatened.
“He didn’t report it to the police because he thought he was in constant danger.”
During the police investigation, the family says they prefer to be left in the dark if it means they get “justice” before the doctor.