Missing Doctor, Father Of 8 Found Dead In Lake 9 Days After Disappearance

BENTON COUNTY, AR — Family and friends are searching for answers after a Missouri emergency room physician's body was discovered in an Arkansas lake more than a week after he was reported missing, according to reports.

A kayaker discovered the body of 49-year-old Dr. John Forsyth on Tuesday in Beaver Lake, a large reservoir in northwestern Arkansas, according to an Associated Press report citing the Benton County Sheriff's Office. Authorities said his body had an apparent gunshot wound.

Authorities didn't specify whether they thought someone shot Forsyth or if the wound was self-inflicted. No further information would immediately be released, authorities said.

Forsyth, of Cassville, Missouri, was last seen around 7 a.m. on May 21, according to the Cassville Police Department. He was reported missing after he didn't show up for work at Mercy Hospital, police said.

Forsyth's unlocked black Infiniti with his wallet, two phones, a laptop and other items were found Sunday near a public pool in Cassville. Surveillance video from the pool shows Forsyth's car pulling into the parking lot, and a white SUV can be seen parking near him a few minutes later, his brother told The AP on Wednesday.

"We need to get to the bottom of this," Richard Forsyth said in an interview with KOLR-TV. "We need to find out what happened. We're not satisfied with just that he was found. This kind of barbaric behavior has to be uncovered. ...This has to be dealt with."

Forsyth was the father of eight children, his brother said, and was so dedicated to his work that he never missed a day, stayed in an RV near the hospital when on call, and was never late for his difficult shifts in the emergency room.

Richard Forsyth said his brother was excited about the future after his divorce was recently finalized, according to a CNN report.

The last person to speak with Forsyth was his fiancee, whom he texted in the early morning hours of May 21 as he left work, reports said. He told her he would see her in a little bit.

That's when the texts stopped, CNN reported.

Authorities and family spent days searching for Forsyth, using dogs and drones to search a nearly 9-mile radius around the pool where his car was found before his body was found about 48 miles south of Cassville in northwestern Arkansas, reports said.

"At this point, it looks like he was abducted and killed and thrown into a lake," Richard Forsyth told KOLR-TV. "Just looking at it from my point of view, that's what it seems like."

Forsyth's family remains baffled by his death and rejects the theory that he might have taken his own life.

"I don't believe it," Richard Forsyth said. "John would never do that. I won't accept that possibility."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.