Going West: True Crime - John Forsyth // 319

Starting point is 00:00:00 What is going on True Crime fans? I'm your host Tee. And I'm your host Daphne. And you're listening to Going West. Hello everybody. Big thank you to Arian and Stephanie for recommending today's case. I'm assuming a bunch of you also sent this over on our socials, etc. because this happened very recently but these are the ones that we got over email because remember email is just the easiest way to recommend a case. If you want to recommend one, we have a list of like a few hundred right now. We tried to prioritize happening now cases like this one. You know just to help spread the word, but if you do want to recommend one, we can add it to our list going west podcast at gmail.com. Also remember if you're looking for more going west, we have a bonus series called

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Starting point is 00:01:21 since this is happening now and there are still answers that need to come to the case. So let's do what we can to help this family. All right guys, this is episode 319 of Going West. So let's get into it. In May of 2023, a beloved father and doctor in Missouri failed to show up for his shift at the hospital he worked at. He was last spotted on surveillance footage near a mysterious vehicle at a community pool, and a week later, his body was found in an Arkansas lake with clear signs of foul play.

Starting point is 00:02:33 This is the story of John Forsyth was born in 1974 to Dixie and Robert Forsyth in Idaho. Though some reports say he was born in Utah, most say Idaho, so we're going to go with Idaho. John grew up in a large Mormon family and is one of seven siblings. He had a brother named Richard and five sisters, Tiffany, Gina, Melissa, Cherry, and Amanda. The four-side family split their childhoods

Starting point is 00:03:19 between the United States and Alberta, Canada, and John and the rest had dual citizenship too, you know to be able to live in both places. But John finished up his secondary education in Alberta, Canada, graduating from high school there, and then he set his sights on medical school. And that's when he moved back to the United States specifically to Florida to study at the Ross University School of Medicine.

Starting point is 00:03:44 Now, a bit on his personality. to Florida to study at the Ross University School of Medicine. Now, a bit on his personality, his brother Richard, who John was extremely close with, described him as generous and charming. And while he was confident, especially at work, he was also soft-spoken and kind. His brother-in-law called him funny, engaging, and the life of the party.

Starting point is 00:04:04 John was working as an emergency room doctor at two different hospitals. The first was Mercy Hospital Aurora in Aurora, Missouri. And then Mercy Hospital Casville in Casville, Missouri. And that's where he ended up residing when he left Florida, moved to Missouri, and he was living in Casville. Now Casville is situated about an hour west of Branson, Missouri,

Starting point is 00:04:27 which is known as a popular tourist destination in the Ozarks, which is quite famous for its family entertainment and attractions. John's two hospitals were located only about 40 minutes apart and he worked extensive shifts at both. His brother Richard recalled that a typical work week for John would consist of 80 hours on the schedule, which I know can be kind of typical for doctors and nurses and people in the medical field.

Starting point is 00:04:54 Oh, yeah, definitely. It's still, it's just like hard to hear every time that they have those kind of hours. You guys are amazing. So at John's memorial, those who worked with him remembered his levity and that he could always make the best of a dire situation even while working in the high-pressure environment of a hospital. One woman who's terminally ill-husband was treated by John said quote, he was always so caring

Starting point is 00:05:19 about his patients. He was so helpful to my husband and me during that time. One of John's sisters Tiffany described herself and her brother John as two sides of the same coin, saying, quote, Our lives had led us in very different directions, but in the last couple of years, we've been bonding over our intense desire to understand the mysteries of the universe, and I've treasured those conversations like precious jewels. I rarely meet anyone I can toss around ideas with like he can. So in 1995, 21-year-old John married a woman named Penny.

Starting point is 00:05:55 The two were married for 14 years and share seven children of their own, but the relationship would ultimately end in divorce in 2019. Then the couple found their way back to each other the following year, remarrying in 2020. But this renewed union ended in divorce as well, and John divorced his wife for a second time in 2022. In addition to the seven children that John shares with Penny, he also has a child from a separate relationship as well. Very little is available about the circumstances regarding this part of John's life, but it's been suggested that John possibly had an extra marital affair, and that resulted in another

Starting point is 00:06:35 child. John and Penny's divorce was finalized on May 11, 2023, so just 10 days before John disappeared. At the moment, Penny resides in Idaho with the couple's youngest children. Now, in addition to his fulfilling and very demanding career, John and Richard embarked upon another business venture in 2018, founding cryptocurrency company Onfo.

Starting point is 00:07:02 According to their website, Onfo sets you free from the limits of banks and traditional currency. And they took a pretty untraditional approach towards cryptocurrency, describing it as a network mining venture, where account holders could earn credits without putting up cash by referring other users to the company. Their website homepage features a video entitled,

Starting point is 00:07:24 The US Dollar Is Dumed. Warning customers that entire economies and currencies could collapse, and that the safest investments are in Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. The video describes bankers and politicians as drunk on expensive liquor, resting in palaces, and that they sought only greed, Lamborghinis, and tax evasion. In 2020, so two years after Onfos formation, Forbes did a write-up on the foresight brothers, detailing their success, and describing them as bitcoin millionaires. Their mission was to free the general public from greedy corporations and banks, driven

Starting point is 00:08:03 by profit and not people. They claimed that they sought to help those in developing countries and those without access to generational wealth. However, they also garnered criticism from the cryptocurrency community, some of whom reduced on-photoe pyramid scheme, in which members buy in at a lower level and work their way up through investments and referrals. And actually one case manager for an agency that investigates fraud and cyber crimes involving cryptocurrency remarked, quote, there's not a single legitimate cryptocurrency project that operates in this way.

Starting point is 00:08:37 And while it does seem like the brothers embarked upon this project in good faith due to the way that their company functioned, they ran into plenty of conflict along the way. Richard himself even said, quote, we've made some enemies, and recalled one specific instance where they were threatened during what he called a hacker battle with some internet dude. Their dad Robert recalls a conversation with John in which he explained that quote, there are people who don't like what I'm doing. But Richard didn't tell his father what he meant by that.

Starting point is 00:09:09 And then in 2022, John was abducted. So in a very bizarre precursor to the tragic fate that would eventually befall him, John was abducted and held hostage due to his involvement with Onfoe. His brother Richard recalled, quote, it was cold, he was zipped tied, he was made to feel very unsafe and taken on a car ride with some people to a bridge and was threatened. He did not file a police report because he believed he was in continued danger. Which is obviously really terrifying if he felt like he was in continued danger. Which is obviously really terrifying if he felt like he was in continued danger and didn't file a police report because of it. Like that's a terrifying

Starting point is 00:09:50 situation to be in, especially when it involves your business that you're still practicing. Yeah, and you know, the scariest thought is going into business in some way that could potentially put your life at risk because obviously money is a big factor and a lot of things like this. Investments, a lot of money being put forth. So yeah, it's very scary what these guys are doing. Yeah, and just, I mean, thinking about the fact that this happened last year and then he was abducted again this year as we're gonna get into,

Starting point is 00:10:19 like the fact that it happened twice is just a terrifying situation, especially with what's to come and the answers that police have and what they don't have. But basically, John believed that like a paper trail and an investigation would lead to more threats of violence, so he made the decision to keep this terrifying ordeal quiet. Believing that John's eventual death may be related to this incident from last year, this is a decision which Richard now wishes that he had protested. So May of this year was

Starting point is 00:10:53 bringing big changes for John and his family. So he and Penny divided up their assets, including splitting their holdings in Bitcoin, and a brand of digital currency called Ethereum, netting each of them upwards of $800,000. John was also ordered to pay his ex-wife 15, again, pennied $15,000 a month in Alimony, along with about $4,000 a month in child support for the four of their school-aged children who still lived at home.

Starting point is 00:11:25 After John disappeared, many people theorized that it was because he was avoiding his financial obligations. The ones I just brought up, but his brother Richard claims that nothing could be further from the truth. Not only did he spare no expense when it came to his family, but he also had the assets to support the payments pretty effortlessly. Richard argued, quote, that was not too much for him.

Starting point is 00:11:49 He was a very wealthy man. One comment on Facebook about John's case reads, quote, I'm not an expert, but based on the dates of the marriage settlement agreement on May 10th and payments of child support of $4,000 a month and alimony payments of $15,000 a month beginning on May 10th and payments of child support of $4,000 a month and Alamoney payments of $15,000 a month beginning on May 15th, continuing until his wife remarries or his death, his disappearance right as payments were starting is more than just a little suspicious. Throw in his work in cryptocurrency and the knowledge of how to easily hide money and

Starting point is 00:12:22 move it without notice, red flags everywhere. And to this, his sister replied flatly, money isn't an issue. May of this year was bringing big changes for John and his family as well. Not only was his divorce being finalized, but John had gotten engaged to someone else, and he was preparing to welcome his ninth child with his fiance. John had just proposed to his then-girlfriend Laura Barnett, who worked as an emergency room nurse practitioner, and they actually met through work. In May of 2023, she was eight months pregnant with their baby, and thrilled to be starting

Starting point is 00:13:00 a family with John, who she described as the love of her life. The timeline here kind of varies depending on the publication, but according to Richard, on Wednesday, May 17, four days before John vanished. John and Richard had a three hour dinner. Richard claimed that this was the same day that John officially proposed to Laura. So John caught his brother up on this massive development in his personal life, and the two strategized about their joint business venture. Richard remembered quote, he said, I can't wait to introduce her to you. We're gonna have a wonderful life together. We're all

Starting point is 00:13:37 gonna spend a lot of time together. I hadn't seen him that happy for a long time. Strangely, many family members only discovered that he was engaged in expecting a child after his disappearance, and it appeared that none of them had even met his future wife and mother of his expected child. I mean, it's possible that this was because like his, you know, he had only just officially divorced his former wife the week prior and maybe wanted to keep the news like a secret until the proceedings were completed. But obviously it does feel rather fast, but we don't really know what his relationship

Starting point is 00:14:14 was like with Penny that last year. Maybe they were separated and not together so him getting engaged. Maybe isn't that weird. I don't know. Yeah, it just does seem kind of strange, given the fact that he was really close with Richard. Yeah, and to say, oh, I can't wait for you to meet her, I proposed to her today.

Starting point is 00:14:31 Like, wait, you haven't met yet, you know, but that's just how it was, I guess. Yeah, so aside from this. No, no judgment, obviously, but. Yeah, yeah. So aside from his big news, Richard didn't remember anything out of the ordinary about their dinner and said that John was in good spirits and was prepared for the journey that he was about

Starting point is 00:14:48 to embark upon with Laura. However, in hindsight, Richard revealed that in the days leading up to his disappearance, John had granted him full power of attorney at their company, so that's kind of strange as well. But while the timing of this may have been a coincidence, it does seem rather suspicious. Now Richard recalled that John also bought a lavish gift for both their mother and for himself, gifting their mom Dixie very expensive jewelry, and Richard with a gift that he said was so thoughtful, he preferred to keep it to himself.

Starting point is 00:15:22 On May 21, 2023, John finished an overnight shift at the hospital in Casville, again where he lived, around 7 a.m. He texted his fiance, Laura, that his shift had ended, and that he would see her soon, and that is the last time that she heard from him. Now John was seen in and around his RV that morning, which was parked in the hospital parking lot. And it's rather Richard explained that on long shifts, John would occasionally park his RV in the parking lot of the hospital, and he would sleep in it.

Starting point is 00:15:58 But this time, instead of heading home after his overnight shift, John drove to the Casville Aquatic Park, which was just about a three-minute drive from the hospital where John worked. This park hosts a large, multi-pool public swimming pool as well as a big grassy area, and this is where John pulled his black infinity sedan into the parking lot, followed very closely by a white SUV. The two cars parked, and according to some reports, it appeared that John actually got into the white SUV with unknown inhabitants. Richard later explained that this has not been confirmed

Starting point is 00:16:40 or denied by law enforcement, but based on the security camera footage from the parking lot, it is a possibility that he got into the car willingly. When John came back into view of the security cameras, he was out of the SUV and appeared to be walking around the parking lot and the park for 10 to 15 minutes, and then he vanished, leaving his car behind. And by the way, this footage has not been released. So I haven't seen it, he has not seen it.

Starting point is 00:17:09 We're just going off of what is said to be in this video. But this was like an hour after sunrise. So it was light outside, but there was nobody else at the park and he just vanished from the footage. Like he went off screen and he never came back and his car remained in that lot. Yeah, nobody saw him anywhere else after this. So it's kind of, it feels like we can confirm

Starting point is 00:17:32 that this was the last place that he was seen anywhere, whether by a witness or by security camera footage. Yes, and that the white SUV has something to do with his disappearance. So are this mystery white SUV. So later that day, he was due back at the hospital, but he never showed up. And this alone was enough to raise suspicions for someone like John, because Richard commented, quote, he wouldn't miss a shift even if his eyeballs were hanging out of their sockets.

Starting point is 00:18:03 Mercy Hospital who had employed John for 15 years agreed with this, releasing a statement that said, Dr. Forsyth has never missed a shift without notifying us in the past. So when he failed to arrive for his scheduled shift and we were unable to reach him, we became concerned and alerted authorities. So later that same day, John was reported missing, and investigators quickly retraced his steps and found his RV, still parked outside the hospital, and his car, still in the parking lot of the Casville Aquatic Park, where he had left that morning.

Starting point is 00:18:38 Now the pool at the Aquatic Park was not yet open for the season, so potential witnesses were very few and far between. The pool was also surrounded by a large wooded area, which was searched extensively for any sign of John, or what had happened to him, and this search yielded no results. Before that break we were discussing that the last place that picked up any footage of John was at the Casville Aquatic Park. His car was left there, and then he completely vanished. And while police questioned whether John had left voluntarily, his family in fiance were skeptical of this theory.

Starting point is 00:19:44 Richard said that he had been acting normally at their dinner, which had been just days prior, except that he was, you know, particularly excited to share the news about Laura and the baby. So between John's RV and car, which were both left unlocked, police recovered John's wallet, passport, laptop, keys, and five or six cell phones. And his family said that multiple cell phones was not necessarily abnormal for John because he kept his work and personal cell phone separate.

Starting point is 00:20:12 And also like to have a phone that was optimized for use in rural areas, and one that was better in urban areas. But I mean, six cell phones is kind of a loss. Yeah, I was gonna say like, whoa. Overboard. That's like, that just going to say like, whoa. Overboard. That's like, that just makes you wonder, you know? It does, it really does.

Starting point is 00:20:29 And you know, his family actually agrees with this sentiment because they also believe that that many phones was pretty excessive. Though not sure of the reasoning behind this, Richard doesn't believe that John was involved in anything illegal, or even just something considered immoral, like cheating on his fiance. He claimed that John worked too much, had too little time, and was far too devoted to

Starting point is 00:20:51 his relationship and his children to be doing anything questionable with the phones. And about this, Richard joked, quote, this is a conscientious, philanthropic math nerd. Having seen where his car was abandoned, Richard said that John had parked in, quote, a very hidden location in a place where it seems like cars are not supposed to go. On the camera's John's infinity was also apparently being shielded behind a pile of wood and a gate to the park. It almost makes you wonder if somebody did like a really dodgy job of trying to hide his car. Obviously, it's just weird because obviously they weren't trying to actually hide it because covering it with a pile of wood and behind a gate isn't going to conceal it forever, but

Starting point is 00:21:35 it's just so weird. It's very strange, but here's the thing I want to get to. I think it's very strange that he's even at this park that is closed anyway. Well, why are you there? It seems to me. I think it's very strange that he's even at this park that is closed anyway. Like why are you there? It seems to me... And why was he closely followed by a white SUV? Right.

Starting point is 00:21:51 It seems to me like this was a possible meeting place. Like he had set up a meeting to meet this white SUV in this park because why in the hell else are you going to be at the aquatic park when it's closed? At seven in the morning when he told his fiance that he would be home soon, so maybe he was expecting to just do this quick thing, whatever it was, and then be on his way. But it seems to me like, because why else would he go to the park, closely followed by an SUV if he was not planning to be there for a reason? Yeah, it's possible that he was double crossed at this meeting and yeah, even that.

Starting point is 00:22:28 As we're going to get into the details, I'm sure you guys will probably think that as well. It's just bizarre. So especially because of the circumstances, his family was terrified at John's sudden disappearance. I mean, just a year before this, he had been abducted, they zip tied him, they made him fear for his life, etc. So they're like, is this happening again?

Starting point is 00:22:51 Is this a totally different situation? Like what the hell happened? And Laura, of course, who was eight months pregnant at the time, was terrified herself, and she wrote this on Facebook, quote, shockedShocked, confused, and heartbroken. I miss you more than anyone can imagine. My heart is broken every second that I don't know if you're okay. Please help in finding my fiance, Johnny. Please share and reshare this to keep his face out there."

Starting point is 00:23:18 And knowing his recent history of abduction, his family was extremely panicked, and they actually immediately suspected foul play. Most of them didn't even entertain the possibility that he would have left voluntarily, and John's son JR remarked, My dad is a very logical person, and I kind of tend to be that way as well. And I can't think of any logical conclusion as to why he would just vanish like this. John and JR hadn't spoken in a couple of weeks, but they had been planning on seeing each

Starting point is 00:23:49 other very shortly. And in fact, John was supposed to be headed to Utah the following date to visit J.R., who was in college there, along with John's oldest daughter. John was reportedly thrilled at this prospect and couldn't wait to tell them the news about the engagement and the baby. J.R. can't understand why John would have left voluntarily when he had just made arrangements to visit, and he further explained, quote, he seemed very excited to come out. We were all really looking forward to seeing him and being together again.

Starting point is 00:24:24 On May 30, 2023, so nine days after he disappeared, John's body was found in Beaver Lake, Arkansas, which is in the Ozark Mountains. Now Beaver Lake is a man-made reservoir about 25 miles or 40 kilometers from Castville, which again is where John lived. The lake is described on Arkansas.com as, quote, featuring 28,000 acres of clear water that attracts thousands of water sports lovers, fishermen, hikers, and bird watchers. And while police are keeping the investigation close to the vest, it's rumored that John fell victim to a gunshot wound and that police are treating this as a homicide.

Starting point is 00:25:05 Richard reported, quote, it is my understanding that he was killed by a single gunshot wound to the head and it was not suicide. John was found floating on the banks of the lake by a kayaker near the Lost Bridge North Park. John's family, fiancee, patients and co-workers were all shocked and saddened by the discovery, but Richard was especially saddened at the loss of his brother, his business partner, and also his best friend. He continuously denies that John would have vanished on his own accord or taken his own

Starting point is 00:25:39 life, saying that on their final dinner together, John was the happiest that he had ever seen him. He explained, quote, on May 17th, which was four days before my brother went missing, he and I were at a three hour dinner. We had, I suppose, in retrospect, a very long goodbye. It was at that dinner that he told me about his fiance, Laura, and that he was very happy to have found her, and that they were very much in love. And I congratulated him. He seems to have really found something that made him happy. And I told him I just really was glad about that.

Starting point is 00:26:13 And he was very optimistic about the future. On the Monday after his disappearance, he had a plane ticket scheduled to fly out to see one of his daughters that he hadn't seen in a while. They had definite plans. He and I had plans. I know what kind of person he was, he was driven and passionate. These are not the actions of a person who kills himself. I do not believe that this is suicide. The police are not sharing much, but the homicide detectives who are working on the case are still working on his case as a homicide. And this is post-autopsy.

Starting point is 00:26:46 That's not the police telling me something definitive, but you don't need a lot to connect those dots. As is always the case with a shocking disappearance and death such as this, the community is rife with theories about what really happened a John that day. The most plausible story seems to be that the same culprits behind John's abduction in 2022 were behind his murder as well. I'm kind of curious if he possibly told his brother who had abducted him, because it seems like at this point police should be able to connect the dots between that abduction

Starting point is 00:27:22 and this one. Well, considering he didn't even tell the police about it because he was worried that it was going to kind of fall back on him, I kind of doubt that he gave very many details to his brother. And I'm sure if he knew who did it, that would be a totally different story. Like, I don't think he knew who abducted him, you know? Like, maybe he had an idea what type of organization

Starting point is 00:27:43 or type of person that was after him, but I feel like if he did know, he would have gone to the police. Well, but that's kind of what I'm saying, though, is at least he would have known if he was in some hot water with some sort of company or some bad guys. Yeah, at least what direction. Right. Yeah. I wonder if Richard does know,

Starting point is 00:28:05 but then I'm sure if he did, he would have told the police by now as well. And it seems like he is kind of in the dark for the most part, just based on, you know, all the quotes that we have read and all the information that's to come. It just doesn't feel like he knows very much. So it's definitely possible that someone had,

Starting point is 00:28:23 like a problem with how John and Richard were managing their company or even that someone lost money investing with Enfo and was seeking some kind of revenge. And a bunch of commenters just on the internet across different forums and articles about this case have kind of started to draw comparisons between John Forsyth and fellow cryptocurrency magnate Bob Lee, who is the founder of Cash App. Now Bob's murder, because Bob was murdered as well, it took place just seven weeks prior to John's.

Starting point is 00:28:57 So that story goes in the early morning hours of April 4, 2023. Bob could be seen on security camera footage stumbling through an alley in San Francisco, clearly seriously wounded. He had been stabbed several times, one of which nicked his heart and he later died in the hospital. Bob had been at the home of the sister of an acquaintance of his, whose name was Nima Momeni, and the two men basically left together in the early morning hours of April 4th, and what happened between them and when Bob can be seen struggling for help down that secluded alley is a total mystery. Now Nima, a ledge self-defense, but further details will likely not be known until the case

Starting point is 00:29:41 goes to trial. But it's believed that the altercation was due to a fight about Neema's sister and Bob's alleged relationship with her. But there's potential that the fight involved finances as well, as it was revealed that Neema's IT consulting business was failing. A more complicated theory about John's murder poses the idea that John was living a double life. This was discussed more prevelently with the revelation that John's murder poses the idea that John was living a double life. This was discussed more prevalently with the revelation that John's passport and wallet were left behind in his unlocked vehicles, and of course that he had that large amount

Starting point is 00:30:14 of cell phones about 5 or 6. And because John grew up in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, armchair detectives also wondered whether John was having like a crisis of faith and was possibly questioning the teachings that he was raised on. It has not been publicized how connected he was to his faith before his disappearance, so it's very much unknown whether this theory has credence or not, and what it even means, like even if he was questioning his faith, what does that exactly mean in relation to his murder?

Starting point is 00:30:46 Yeah, I don't I don't see that really being connected unless there was some secret that he was Holding for the church or something. I don't know. Yeah. I mean or if it's you know, he I don't know I don't know I think it's just another thing of of direction. You know, is it going in the religion direction? Is it going in the direction of work? I personally think it more has something to do with his career. Yeah. Or his business, rather. But again, I mean, I'm just pulling that

Starting point is 00:31:12 out of nowhere kind of thing because that's all we can do with this case. So some have suspected that one of John's exes, maybe was involved in this, like either the mother of his child outside of his marriage, or Penny, his recent ex-wife. But as far as we know, maybe was involved in this like either the mother of his child outside of his marriage or Penny, his recent ex-wife. But as far as we know, Penny was home in Idaho with their kids at the time of John's disappearance and death and the split was amicable. Like I don't know why she would do that, but of course we're just bringing it up because

Starting point is 00:31:38 other people are bringing it up. And Penny's attorney claimed on her behalf quote, she is just devastated and I mean just shocked. She never saw any of this kind of thing coming. One user posted a strange thought in a Facebook group that began as a way to spread awareness for John's disappearance and is now morphed into a group to memorialize him. So here's what was thrown in. On May 19th, 34-year-old Alicia Stott's threatened Aurora Mercy Hospital, one of the two

Starting point is 00:32:08 hospitals that John was employed at, with gun violence. She was apprehended and charged with institutional vandalism and a terrorist threat. But the disturbing timing of this event left some wondering if she was also connected to John's death. Right, because John went missing and was killed on May 21st, which was two days after this. Exactly. So rumors involving the women in Jon's life, his family, and his private business ventures became so pervasive online that his sister Tiffany took to Jon's Memorial Facebook page to address the baseless accusations, and she wrote, quote,

Starting point is 00:32:45 we really appreciate all the effort the community put into helping us find John while he was missing. Now that we know he's gone, we're all focusing on taking care of each other and trying to survive the unthinkable. Last night, we sat together in my parents' living room, reading some of the kind messages that people have sent us. Those who have commented or written with prayers and stories about John, you continue to make a difference for us and we're grateful for you. I'm the oldest child in the family. I grew up feeling intensely protective of my younger siblings, and that big sister instinct is especially strong now.

Starting point is 00:33:23 I want to make clear that this page was created by John's family. It's monitored by his siblings, and the family sees almost every post on here. If you're kind, we love you for that. If you're cruel, we see that too. We're determined to not engage, but we see it, and it does hurt, and that's the last thing anybody needs right now. I've recently taken on more admin duties on this page, and big sister wants to keep it safe for my family.

Starting point is 00:33:51 I'd like to ask for people's help with that. If you see comments that are unnecessarily unkind, please report those to the admin so that I can show those people the door before the rest of the family sees it. None of us, not the family, and not you all, need that kind of stress hanging around. It's time to work on healing. Because of some recent persistent comments, I need to add that we're not allowing any comments that are speculative or accusatory in any way. I understand people want to solve the case, and one might think that that's helpful,

Starting point is 00:34:24 but it can actually be pretty distressing for the family. So let's just not go there. This case is being investigated by various police agencies and we're confident that they're doing everything that they can to figure out what happened. Exactly. And honestly, this is like I said, just one of those cases that is very hard to speculate on anyway, but I really do just hope that the police are doing everything they can to figure out what happened.

Starting point is 00:34:50 And hopefully there's information on one of his many cell phones that could lead to some kind of information regarding that potential meet-up that morning, but we shall see. So John was such an asset at his two hospitals that Richard claims his employers will have to find two physicians to take his place. After his body was recovered, the Forsyth family held a private memorial attended by only about 40 people nearest and nearest to John. Then on June 11, 2023, a vigil for John was held honoring his memory and encouraging anyone with information to come forward to police.

Starting point is 00:35:32 Richard addressed the crowd and said, quote, So many stories of people whose lives he's touched, whose lives he saved. This was a man who was larger than life. This is a hero of mine. But everybody's sibling is their hero, I guess. But he really was. Also came in a ton of different stories from like former patients who praised John's bedside manner and just discussed his compassion for and decorum with his patients, especially

Starting point is 00:35:59 those who were particularly struggling. One mother whose son came in suffering a seizure just hours before John disappeared remembered his kindness in the face of a parent's worst nightmare. She described him as genuine and attentive. Though his family laments the lack of answers, they have been very patient with law enforcement and trust that the police are doing everything they can, whether or not the family has heard updates. And as of the time that we're recording this, this only happened about, what, five weeks ago, ish, maybe a little bit more, five and a half, almost six?

Starting point is 00:36:34 Yeah, this was very recent. So recent that it was only a little over a week ago, on Sunday, June 25th, that Laura gave birth to John's ninth child, and sadly, this happened just after he disappeared. But we really do like covering cases that do happen this recent from when we're recording because it means that we can kind of help spread the word and hopefully somebody out there that's listening can help share information. And with that, if you have any information about the

Starting point is 00:37:06 suspicious death and believed murder of John Forsyth, please call the Barry County Police Department at 417-847-3121. Thank you so much everybody for listening to this episode of Going West. Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode, and on Friday we'll have an all-new case for you guys to dive into. I know these cases can be kind of hard to listen to because there are so few answers, but again, we really just had one intention for this case and that was to share John's story despite the lack of information and that really is the whole point, but I know it can kind of be frustrating to listen to because we all want to see a resolution

Starting point is 00:37:54 for this case. We want to know what happened to John. We want his family to have peace. So again, please make sure you share this one and thank you so much for tuning in. Yeah, I feel like there are going to be some updates that are going to come out. Obviously, like Daphne said, this happens so recently that we're inevitably going to find out more details about John's death, but hopefully those come soon. Yes, absolutely.

Starting point is 00:38:17 I mean, I would imagine just again, with his phones, with the surveillance footage, like something is going to come out, and I just wonder why they haven't released the footage because if they have this white SUV in the footage, you would think that maybe they would wanna show it and say does anybody recognize this car, but it makes me wonder how close was the car to the camera? Was it high resolution, was it low? Did they get any kind of pieces of the license plate?

Starting point is 00:38:43 Like what can you see on this footage? I guess what I'm taking away from it is that police are really trying to keep it close because they don't want to leak certain information Which I totally understand because this is still an ongoing investigation and obviously that is very important and Maybe that means that they are on to something and that they feel like they're in going in a particular direction And that's why they are on to something and that they feel like they're in going in a particular direction and that's why they are releasing so little. Exactly, I mean, that was my other thought as well. So hopefully that is the case.

Starting point is 00:39:12 Absolutely. Well, we'll keep you guys updated. Remember, we do like to do that on our socials. Unless there is a big update, we'll just update this very episode to give you guys the latest. But thank you guys again and we'll see in a few days. Alright guys, so for everybody out there in the world, don't be a stranger. 1.5% 2.5% 2.5% 2.5%

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Going West: True Crime - John Forsyth // 319

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