Family slam officials mysterious death of Missouri ER doctor

The family of a Missouri ER doctor and crypto millionaire who died last month in suspicious circumstances have slammed authorities for keeping them 'in the dark' throughout the investigation.  

John Forsyth was found shot dead in a lake in the Ozarks nine days after he disappeared on May 21, with many of his family members not discovering he had a pregnant fiancée until after the tragedy.  

Relatives also recalled he had previously warned he 'might be in danger', but his brother Richard Forsyth said he is no closer to understanding the murder despite speaking with detectives for several hours Tuesday.

'The Missouri state police told us, "We know more than you think we do,"' he told Fox News. 'We are mad we are being kept so in the dark.'

John Forsyth was discovered shot dead in a lake in the Ozarks nine days after he went missing on May 21, 2023

Forsyth was last seen alive leaving work at a hospital in Cassville, Missouri on May 21, before he was found in Beaver Lake in northeast Arkansas over a week later.

The father-of-eight, had just finalized a divorce from his wife on May 11, and proposed marriage to his new fiancée three days before he was last seen alive. 

A source close to the family has now revealed that his fiancée, who wishes to remain anonymous, is eight months pregnant. 

Many devastated family members were not even aware he was newly engaged and had not met her until after his disappearance. 

His father Robert, who learned about the pregnancy and engagement after his death, said the situation is especially tragic for his fiancée. 

'I have never cried and prayed so much as the last two weeks,' he said. 'They were planning their wedding.' 

When John was last seen finishing his shift at Mercy Hospital at around 7am, he had been texting his new fiancée to tell her he would see her later that day. 

When John was last seen finishing his shift at Mercy Hospital at around 7am, he had been texting his new fiancée to tell her he would see her later that day

Family members said they first knew something was wrong when he uncharacteristically failed to show up for his shift at the hospital the next night. 

'He wouldn't miss a shift even if his eyeballs were hanging out of their sockets,' his brother Richard told The Daily Beast. 'It was an immediate red flag.' 

A short time later, authorities located 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.

A further search revealed that two cell phones were left behind in Forsyth's luxury RV that he stayed in while he was on-call at the hospital. But there was no sign of the doctor.

An expansive 90-acre search was carried out by the Cassville Police Department soon after, which failed to turn up any 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, which is about 20 miles south of Cassville, police said. 

In a bizarre revelation, Richard previously revealed that his brother had been kidnapped and threatened by unidentified assailants a year before his death. 

Richard, who founded the crypto firm 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 in mysterious circumstances.

Forsyth was last seen in this car park outside Mercy Hospital in Cassville, Missouri at around 7am on May 21, 2023

The brother said he believed the kidnapping was 'crypto related' but that he did not know anything else about the perpetrators from the account of the mutual friend, who wished to remain anonymous due to ongoing safety concerns.

Richard cautioned that there was no evidence yet linking the 2022 incident with John's death, but added: 'It stands out very stark in the tableaux of facts that have emerged about the case.'

'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 was threatened,' Richard told Fox News Digital, which first reported the alleged kidnapping.

'He did not file a police report because he believed he was in continued danger,' the brother added.