Missouri
Missouri doctor John Forsyth last seen getting into mystery car before being found dead in lake: brother
The Missouri ER doctor who went missing for more than a week was seen getting into another vehicle with an unknown driver before his body was found in a lake, according to his family.
Security cameras show Dr. John Forsyth entering the car in the parking lot of a public pool in Cassville, Missouri on May 21, his brother, Richard Forsyth, told The Associated Press.
The footage captured some of the 49-year-old doctor’s last known movements before he was found dead Tuesday by a kayaker in Beaver Lake in Arkansas — about an hour south of Cassville. He appears to have died from a gunshot wound.
After entering the unknown car, Forsyth apparently got out before the driver left the parking lot.
His brother had previously told the Daily Beast, citing police, the surveillance video showed Forsyth walking around in the parking lot about “10 to 15 minutes” after the car left.
Forsyth then mysteriously left his own unlocked car behind in the parking lot. Two phones, a laptop and other personal items were found inside his vehicle, his brother said.
Richard Forsyth said his brother had texted his new fiancée around 7 a.m. the day he disappeared, telling her he would see her soon. Then he suddenly stopped responding to messages.
Officials, who remained tightlipped releasing information regarding the case, have not identified the driver of the other vehicle.
Detectives told Forsyth’s brother that the death is being investigated as a homicide, he told OzarksFirst. However, authorities have not said whether or not they believe he was killed or took his own life.
Benton County Coroner Daniel Oxford said an autopsy was completed Thursday. The results won’t be released until the investigation is complete.
Forsyth was reported missing on May 21 after he failed to show up for his shift at Mercy Hospital, which was completely out of character for the father of eight, according to his loved ones.
Richard Forsyth said the family had been gathered together eating dinner Tuesday night when a state police officer came to the door to share the tragic news.
Family members have rejected the idea that loving, happy father would commit suicide.
“There’s no way he killed himself,” Richard Forsyth told Fox News this week. “Many times he mentioned he might be in danger.”
He loved his work as a doctor and rarely missed a day of work, often sleeping in an RV outside the hospital when he was on call, family members said.
His RV was also left unlocked, which Richard also called “very uncharacteristic.”
Richard Forsyth said that his brother has previously been involved in dangerous situations and that he was kidnapped and released in February 2022.
“It was cold. He was zip-tied. He was made to feel very unsafe and taken on a car ride with some people to a bridge and he was threatened,” Richard said.
The brother only learned about the kidnapping from a friend, and said John decided not to file a police report because he believed he was in continued danger, he told Fox News.
Richard said he didn’t know who would want to harm his brother.
Forsyth’s connection to the second vehicle seen on pool surveillance video remains unclear. Authorities have not confirmed any information about the video — including if it was taken before or after Forsyth may have texted his fiancée.
Police have also not released any information on how Forsyth got from Cassville to Beaver Lake, when and where he died, or if investigators recovered a weapon.
Shannon Jenkins, spokesperson for the Benton County Sheriff’s Department, told AP Friday that “there is no immediate threat to the public,” but declined to offer additional information until the investigation is complete.
Forsyth had gotten engaged just three days before his disappearance, but he was also recently divorced. On May 10, a judge ordered Forsyth to pay his ex-wife $3,999 in child support a month, plus another $15,000 a month, according to court records.
He married and divorced the same woman twice between 1995 and 2022, but both his brother and Ryan Ricketts, the ex-wife’s divorce attorney, say the split was amicable.
His ex-wife, who lives in Idaho where he was born, was given custody of the couple’s children, though he continued to have a strong relationship with them, his brother and the woman’s divorce attorney said.
Forsyth has been an actively licensed doctor and surgeon in Missouri since July 1, 2005 after receiving his medical degree from Ross University, based in Barbados.
He’d been an emergency physician at Mercy Hospital in Cassville for nearly 15 years.
With Post wires
Missouri
Public safety, tax cuts, abortion highlight 2025 priorities for Missouri lawmakers
Missouri
Justin Bensley selected as December 2024 Missouri Department of Natural Resources Team Member of the Month
JEFFERSON CITY, MO, JAN. 8, 2025 – Justin Bensley, an archeologist with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Missouri State Parks, has been selected as the department’s Team Member of the Month for December 2024. He was selected for his service to the department and his efforts while reviewing cultural resource impacts related to projects funded by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
In January 2024, Bensley’s section learned of approximately 20 American Rescue Plan Act projects that needed to be reviewed for cultural resource impacts. Most of the projects were for water and wastewater improvements, so each one also need an architectural survey. All of the projects had to be reviewed and any issues resolved so they could go out for bid by the end of the fiscal year, which was June 30, 2024.
“Justin turned out to be a miracle worker,” said Kim Dillon, a natural resources manager who nominated Bensley for the award. “His work resulted in most of the projects being reviewed, modified and approved just before the end of the fiscal year.”
Due to a vacancy, Bensley was the only staff archeologist at the time, so he was tasked with evaluating each of these projects on his own or with archeological contractors on the larger jobs. In addition, he had to consult with the Osage Nation Tribal Historic Preservation Office on the projects, which was a new process. Completing the reviews required Bensley to coordinate between each facility, archeological contractors, planners and the Missouri Office of Administration while also holding many meetings, making countless phone calls and preparing numerous documents.
“I honestly don’t know how he did it, but we are so thankful that he did,” said Dillon.
Bensley joined the Missouri Department of Natural Resources in March 2021 and resides in Columbia.
Missouri
Freeman puts up 18 in UIC’s victory against Missouri State
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — Tyem Freeman had 18 points in UIC’s 80-63 win over Missouri State on Tuesday night.
Freeman also had five rebounds for the Flames (11-5, 3-2 Missouri Valley Conference). Filip Skobalj shot 6 for 6, including 5 for 5 from beyond the arc to add 17 points. Ahmad Henderson II had 12 points and shot 5 for 8, including 2 for 4 from beyond the arc.
The Bears (7-9, 0-5) were led in scoring by Zaxton King, who finished with 17 points. Missouri State also got 10 points from Michael Osei-Bonsu.
Freeman led UIC in scoring with eight points in the first half to help put the Flames up 36-27 at the break. Skobalj scored a team-high 14 points after the break.
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