Missouri doctor found shot dead in Ozarks lake was previously kidnapped, claims ... trends now
The brother of a Missouri doctor who was found shot dead in an Ozarks lake this week has claimed he was the victim of a mysterious prior kidnapping attempt.
Dr. John Forsyth, 49, was found dead of a gunshot wound in Beaver Lake in northeast Arkansas on Tuesday, nine days after he was last seen alive leaving work at a hospital in Cassville, Missouri, police said.
In a terse statement, the Benton County Sheriff's Department did not say where upon Forsyth's body the gunshot wound was located, or whether it appeared to be self-inflicted, leaving many unanswered questions in the case.
Forsyth, a 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 on May 21.
In an unusual twist, Forsyth's brother Richard now claims that a little over a year ago, the doctor was kidnapped and threatened by unidentified individuals.
Dr. John Forsyth, 49, was found dead of a gunshot wound in Beaver Lake in northeast Arkansas on Tuesday, nine days after he was last seen alive leaving work at a hospital in Missouri
Forsyth's body was discovered about 20 miles away from the town where he was last seen alive, and where his car was found unlocked and abandoned
Richard, who founded the crypto firm OnFo with his brother, told Fox News Digital that in February 2022, John Forsyth was kidnapped and then released, but never filed a police report.
'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 the outlet.
'He did not file a police report because he believed he was in continued danger,' the brother added.
Attempts to reach Richard on Wednesday afternoon for further details were unsuccessful, and DailyMail.com was unable to independently verify his claims regarding the kidnapping.
Messages left with the Benton County Sheriff's Office and the Missouri State Highway Patrol were not immediately returned.
Authorities said Wednesday that they're still investigating what happened in the week between Forsyth's disappearance and the discovery of his body.
No further information would immediately be available, authorities said.
A kayaker found Forsyth's body on Tuesday afternoon in Beaver Lake, a large reservoir in Arkansas, the Benton County Sheriff's Office said.
Forsyth was last seen alive early on May 21, as he was leaving Mercy Cassville Hospital, where he worked in the ER. He was reported missing
