1 00:00:08,245 --> 00:00:15,085 Speaker 1: School of Humans. On May twenty first, twenty twenty three, 2 00:00:15,645 --> 00:00:18,925 Speaker 1: doctor John Forsyth, a forty nine year old er doctor, 3 00:00:19,325 --> 00:00:22,045 Speaker 1: was due to work the evening shift at Mercy Hospital 4 00:00:22,125 --> 00:00:26,165 Speaker 1: in Casville, Missouri. John had already worked the overnight shift 5 00:00:26,205 --> 00:00:29,525 Speaker 1: the day before and finished up at seven am. After that, 6 00:00:30,085 --> 00:00:32,525 Speaker 1: he went to crash for a few hours before starting 7 00:00:32,525 --> 00:00:36,005 Speaker 1: his next shift that night twelve hours later. This was 8 00:00:36,045 --> 00:00:38,885 Speaker 1: a normal day for John. He had a habit of 9 00:00:38,925 --> 00:00:41,845 Speaker 1: pulling long shifts and working between eighty and one hundred 10 00:00:41,845 --> 00:00:45,205 Speaker 1: hours per week. But John never showed up for work 11 00:00:45,205 --> 00:00:48,045 Speaker 1: that night, and it wasn't long before his family and 12 00:00:48,085 --> 00:00:54,125 Speaker 1: colleagues realized he had disappeared. Doctor John Forsyth was a 13 00:00:54,165 --> 00:00:57,685 Speaker 1: hard working, well respected doctor and a father of eight children. 14 00:00:58,325 --> 00:01:01,645 Speaker 1: But he also had a complicated personal life, one that 15 00:01:01,725 --> 00:01:07,325 Speaker 1: he kept compartmentalized, one that involved an expensive a new fiancee, 16 00:01:07,845 --> 00:01:10,245 Speaker 1: and a crypto company he had co founded with his 17 00:01:10,285 --> 00:01:14,165 Speaker 1: brother Richard that had been involved in some questionable dealings. 18 00:01:14,885 --> 00:01:18,685 Speaker 1: What happened to doctor John Forsyth? Was he kidnapped by 19 00:01:18,685 --> 00:01:21,845 Speaker 1: someone with bad intentions? Did he walk away on his own? 20 00:01:22,205 --> 00:01:24,965 Speaker 1: Could he have been living a double life and been 21 00:01:25,045 --> 00:01:29,485 Speaker 1: lured out and murdered by one of his enemies. I'm 22 00:01:29,525 --> 00:01:32,845 Speaker 1: Catherine Townsend. Over the past five years of making my 23 00:01:32,925 --> 00:01:36,325 Speaker 1: true crime podcast, Helen Gone, I've learned that there's no 24 00:01:36,445 --> 00:01:39,405 Speaker 1: such thing as a small town where murder never happens. 25 00:01:40,085 --> 00:01:43,325 Speaker 1: I have received hundreds of messages from people all around 26 00:01:43,325 --> 00:01:46,565 Speaker 1: the country asking for help with an unsolved murder that's 27 00:01:46,565 --> 00:01:50,965 Speaker 1: affected them, their families, and their communities. If you have 28 00:01:51,085 --> 00:01:53,245 Speaker 1: a case you'd like me and my team to look into, 29 00:01:53,765 --> 00:01:55,765 Speaker 1: you can reach out to us at our Helen Gone 30 00:01:55,845 --> 00:01:59,045 Speaker 1: Murder Line at six seven eight seven four four six ' 31 00:01:59,125 --> 00:02:02,725 Speaker 1: one four five that six seven eight seven four four 32 00:02:03,085 --> 00:02:04,405 Speaker 1: six ' one four or five. 33 00:02:04,925 --> 00:02:42,245 Speaker 2: This is Helen Gone Murder Line now. 34 00:02:42,325 --> 00:02:45,565 Speaker 1: Early media reports said the last time that John was 35 00:02:45,605 --> 00:02:48,485 Speaker 1: heard from was on May twenty first, twenty twenty three. 36 00:02:49,525 --> 00:02:52,685 Speaker 1: After his shift at the emergency room at Mercy Hospital 37 00:02:52,685 --> 00:02:56,445 Speaker 1: in Cassville, Missouri, he went back to his luxury RV trailer. 38 00:02:57,005 --> 00:02:59,525 Speaker 1: He kept the trailer parked outside the hospital when he 39 00:02:59,565 --> 00:03:01,805 Speaker 1: was working back to back shifts and needed to sleep 40 00:03:01,805 --> 00:03:04,845 Speaker 1: in between them. As we said before, he went to 41 00:03:04,845 --> 00:03:07,405 Speaker 1: get some rest before his second shift that started that night. 42 00:03:08,485 --> 00:03:11,285 Speaker 1: John was divorced and was in a serious relationship with 43 00:03:11,325 --> 00:03:15,245 Speaker 1: his girlfriend. According to a family member, John sent some 44 00:03:15,285 --> 00:03:18,325 Speaker 1: text messages to his girlfriend, who was a nurse, saying 45 00:03:18,325 --> 00:03:21,445 Speaker 1: that he would see her later. Now it doesn't say 46 00:03:21,525 --> 00:03:25,005 Speaker 1: in media reports whether his girlfriend worked at the same 47 00:03:25,085 --> 00:03:27,525 Speaker 1: hospital as he did or not, but either way, he 48 00:03:27,605 --> 00:03:30,645 Speaker 1: did appear to have plans to see her. When he 49 00:03:30,685 --> 00:03:34,085 Speaker 1: didn't arrive for a shift and never called, his colleagues 50 00:03:34,125 --> 00:03:38,045 Speaker 1: were immediately alarmed because John was very dependable. This was 51 00:03:38,125 --> 00:03:40,125 Speaker 1: not the type of guy to not show up for 52 00:03:40,165 --> 00:03:43,045 Speaker 1: a shift. In fact, it had never happened in his 53 00:03:43,165 --> 00:03:46,125 Speaker 1: fifteen years on the job. He had never just not 54 00:03:46,245 --> 00:03:49,605 Speaker 1: shown up and not called. He had never, even, according 55 00:03:49,605 --> 00:03:53,165 Speaker 1: to his family, taken a sick day. His colleagues at 56 00:03:53,165 --> 00:03:56,045 Speaker 1: the hospital reported him missing, and by the next day, Monday, 57 00:03:56,445 --> 00:03:59,725 Speaker 1: his entire family, the community, the sheriff's department, and some 58 00:03:59,805 --> 00:04:03,285 Speaker 1: other agencies, including the Highway Patrol, were looking for John. 59 00:04:04,285 --> 00:04:07,285 Speaker 1: They searched an area that spanned several miles. They brought 60 00:04:07,325 --> 00:04:10,205 Speaker 1: in drones, they brought in canine dogs, but they found 61 00:04:10,205 --> 00:04:14,005 Speaker 1: no sign of John Forsyth. Now, because his personal life 62 00:04:14,125 --> 00:04:17,805 Speaker 1: was complicated, which we'll get into in a minute, of course, 63 00:04:18,045 --> 00:04:21,125 Speaker 1: law enforcement has to consider the possibility that John might 64 00:04:21,125 --> 00:04:25,285 Speaker 1: have gone missing voluntarily, and at first it didn't seem 65 00:04:25,325 --> 00:04:28,205 Speaker 1: like police thought that John had been taken against his 66 00:04:28,285 --> 00:04:31,245 Speaker 1: will or been the victim of foul play. They didn't 67 00:04:31,245 --> 00:04:35,525 Speaker 1: find any obvious signs of foul play. John's family seemed 68 00:04:35,525 --> 00:04:38,165 Speaker 1: like they weren't sure what to think. On the one hand, 69 00:04:38,725 --> 00:04:41,165 Speaker 1: they said there was no apparent reason for John to 70 00:04:41,205 --> 00:04:43,645 Speaker 1: go missing. He'd had some stresses in his life, but 71 00:04:43,685 --> 00:04:46,205 Speaker 1: he was dealing well with them. But on the other hand, 72 00:04:46,685 --> 00:04:49,845 Speaker 1: John did have a reputation as kind of this eccentric genius. 73 00:04:50,885 --> 00:04:54,205 Speaker 1: His brother now Forsyth, said that John had been and 74 00:04:54,245 --> 00:04:57,005 Speaker 1: this was the way that now put it. Always looking 75 00:04:57,045 --> 00:05:01,525 Speaker 1: for adventure, as I said. In addition to being a doctor, 76 00:05:01,765 --> 00:05:05,165 Speaker 1: John ran a cryptocurrency business with his other brother, Richard. 77 00:05:06,085 --> 00:05:10,765 Speaker 1: The business was called Onfoe. John had started mining bitcoin 78 00:05:10,845 --> 00:05:13,685 Speaker 1: and light coin, another digital currency, back in the very 79 00:05:13,685 --> 00:05:17,085 Speaker 1: early days around two thousand and nine twenty ten. He 80 00:05:17,165 --> 00:05:19,525 Speaker 1: made a big profit off of this, and after a 81 00:05:19,525 --> 00:05:22,285 Speaker 1: couple of years he funneled these earnings into building some 82 00:05:22,405 --> 00:05:27,205 Speaker 1: new businesses. This business on Foe appeared to be successful. 83 00:05:27,605 --> 00:05:33,325 Speaker 1: In twenty twenty, Forbes called John a bitcoin millionaire. Back 84 00:05:33,365 --> 00:05:36,405 Speaker 1: to twenty twenty three, police are searching for John, and 85 00:05:36,485 --> 00:05:39,565 Speaker 1: things got even more bizarre once police found his car. 86 00:05:40,405 --> 00:05:43,365 Speaker 1: This actually happened pretty quickly. There was an area that 87 00:05:43,445 --> 00:05:46,365 Speaker 1: was fairly near the hospital called the Cassville Aquatic Center 88 00:05:46,405 --> 00:05:49,805 Speaker 1: that had a public swimming pool. Now at that location, 89 00:05:50,165 --> 00:05:54,685 Speaker 1: police were already looking for a missing child. The child, 90 00:05:54,725 --> 00:05:57,405 Speaker 1: by the way, was eventually found and had nothing to 91 00:05:57,485 --> 00:06:02,045 Speaker 1: do with John Forsyth, but by coincidence, this child had 92 00:06:02,085 --> 00:06:05,725 Speaker 1: gone missing from the same general area. Police knew the 93 00:06:05,765 --> 00:06:08,245 Speaker 1: aquatic center was the last place that this child had 94 00:06:08,245 --> 00:06:12,125 Speaker 1: been seen, So by the time John went missing, they 95 00:06:12,125 --> 00:06:15,005 Speaker 1: were already looking at that parking lot, going through all 96 00:06:15,085 --> 00:06:18,565 Speaker 1: the security camera footage, trying to see license plates, and 97 00:06:18,645 --> 00:06:21,805 Speaker 1: basically trying to id every single car in that parking 98 00:06:21,845 --> 00:06:25,925 Speaker 1: lot any way that they could. They saw one vehicle 99 00:06:25,965 --> 00:06:30,085 Speaker 1: that looked like it could be John's car, a black Infinity. Apparently, 100 00:06:30,525 --> 00:06:32,885 Speaker 1: they looked at the video and saw that this black 101 00:06:32,965 --> 00:06:36,165 Speaker 1: car came into the parking lot and then didn't ever leave. 102 00:06:36,685 --> 00:06:39,765 Speaker 1: So police went to that location and they found the 103 00:06:39,765 --> 00:06:42,805 Speaker 1: car parked in a back area behind a dumpster, and 104 00:06:42,845 --> 00:06:46,885 Speaker 1: they did verify that this was John's car. John's car 105 00:06:46,965 --> 00:06:50,645 Speaker 1: was unlocked. When police opened it, they found John's keys, 106 00:06:50,845 --> 00:06:55,285 Speaker 1: his passport, his wallet, a cracked cell phone, and a laptop, 107 00:06:55,965 --> 00:06:59,685 Speaker 1: all left pretty much untouched inside that car. Back at 108 00:06:59,765 --> 00:07:03,525 Speaker 1: John's RV, police found two more phones. Apparently John had 109 00:07:03,565 --> 00:07:07,445 Speaker 1: three phones in all. Some people online have made comments 110 00:07:07,485 --> 00:07:11,045 Speaker 1: about this being a little odd, like several phones meant 111 00:07:11,045 --> 00:07:13,565 Speaker 1: that he had some kind of a double life, but honestly, 112 00:07:14,165 --> 00:07:18,205 Speaker 1: I don't find that strange. We know that one screen 113 00:07:18,445 --> 00:07:21,245 Speaker 1: was cracked, which means that John might have only had 114 00:07:21,245 --> 00:07:24,805 Speaker 1: two phones that were functional, and a lot of people, 115 00:07:24,805 --> 00:07:27,325 Speaker 1: including doctors, often have more than one phone if they're 116 00:07:27,365 --> 00:07:31,565 Speaker 1: on call. He also had that crypto side business. But 117 00:07:31,845 --> 00:07:34,565 Speaker 1: the fact that his valuable stuff and his passport were 118 00:07:34,645 --> 00:07:37,685 Speaker 1: left behind caused the local rumor bil to go into 119 00:07:37,725 --> 00:07:40,965 Speaker 1: overdrive and again cause people to wonder if this was 120 00:07:41,005 --> 00:07:44,605 Speaker 1: someone who voluntarily or not, had made a decision to 121 00:07:44,685 --> 00:07:49,325 Speaker 1: walk away from his life. Police said publicly they did 122 00:07:49,325 --> 00:07:53,805 Speaker 1: not immediately suspect foul play, and what they said was 123 00:07:53,885 --> 00:07:56,325 Speaker 1: basically the reason they felt this way was because there 124 00:07:56,325 --> 00:07:59,205 Speaker 1: were no signs of violence, no signs of a struggle 125 00:07:59,285 --> 00:08:02,565 Speaker 1: either in the car or in the RV, no obvious blood, 126 00:08:03,125 --> 00:08:05,485 Speaker 1: and again This was a grown man with a complish 127 00:08:05,845 --> 00:08:09,365 Speaker 1: personal life. He had just gone through a divorce, and 128 00:08:09,485 --> 00:08:12,285 Speaker 1: in the past he had been known to have some secrets. 129 00:08:12,925 --> 00:08:16,845 Speaker 1: Donald Privett, the interim police chief at the Casville Police Department, 130 00:08:17,405 --> 00:08:20,525 Speaker 1: told the media quote, there are numerous things to look for. 131 00:08:20,605 --> 00:08:25,125 Speaker 1: Foul play, items discarded inappropriately, property damage to the vehicle, 132 00:08:25,205 --> 00:08:28,485 Speaker 1: to the residents, different types of scuff marks on the ground, 133 00:08:28,645 --> 00:08:32,525 Speaker 1: signs of bodily fluids, blood. There was none, none of 134 00:08:32,565 --> 00:08:37,565 Speaker 1: that end quote. Apparently police canine dogs did alert in 135 00:08:37,645 --> 00:08:41,565 Speaker 1: one spot close to John's car, but police found nothing there. 136 00:08:42,325 --> 00:08:45,725 Speaker 1: And remember, the police did look at the surveillance cameras 137 00:08:45,725 --> 00:08:49,885 Speaker 1: from that parking lot, but there has been conflicting information 138 00:08:50,245 --> 00:08:54,365 Speaker 1: as to what exactly they saw in those tapes. John's brother, 139 00:08:54,525 --> 00:08:57,605 Speaker 1: Richard Forsyth, started talking to the media fairly soon after 140 00:08:57,645 --> 00:09:01,885 Speaker 1: his brother disappeared. At first, Richard told journalists that the 141 00:09:01,925 --> 00:09:05,685 Speaker 1: security cameras did show John on that footage. Richard Yard 142 00:09:05,765 --> 00:09:09,205 Speaker 1: said the camera had captured John walking away from his 143 00:09:09,285 --> 00:09:13,245 Speaker 1: car and appearing to get into another car. Richard told 144 00:09:13,285 --> 00:09:16,645 Speaker 1: the Daily Beast quote, it leaves a few minutes later 145 00:09:17,525 --> 00:09:20,485 Speaker 1: and John is seen walking around maybe ten to fifteen 146 00:09:20,565 --> 00:09:23,725 Speaker 1: minutes after that, and then he walks away from his 147 00:09:23,765 --> 00:09:28,325 Speaker 1: car end quote. Richard later seemed to be a little 148 00:09:28,325 --> 00:09:31,925 Speaker 1: more specific with reporters. He said the camera footage had 149 00:09:31,965 --> 00:09:34,285 Speaker 1: showed John parked his car there, and that a few 150 00:09:34,325 --> 00:09:37,965 Speaker 1: minutes later a white SUV drove into that parking lot, 151 00:09:38,205 --> 00:09:41,645 Speaker 1: and that the suv left shortly after that. But it 152 00:09:41,725 --> 00:09:45,325 Speaker 1: turned out that John had never been seen getting into 153 00:09:45,365 --> 00:09:49,085 Speaker 1: a car at all. Later, law enforcement said something different 154 00:09:49,085 --> 00:09:52,845 Speaker 1: to Richard. They said the video had been very bad quality. 155 00:09:53,085 --> 00:09:56,325 Speaker 1: It was super blurry, so the black car they saw 156 00:09:56,325 --> 00:10:00,125 Speaker 1: on video was basically a black blur. It could not 157 00:10:00,325 --> 00:10:03,885 Speaker 1: even definitively be proven to be John's car. Police thought 158 00:10:03,925 --> 00:10:06,325 Speaker 1: it was because of the timing and because the car 159 00:10:06,525 --> 00:10:10,725 Speaker 1: was found there later, but this was not proof. Remember, 160 00:10:10,845 --> 00:10:13,485 Speaker 1: Richard had said that John could be seen on video 161 00:10:13,565 --> 00:10:17,645 Speaker 1: walking around, but later police said there was no definite 162 00:10:17,645 --> 00:10:20,685 Speaker 1: footage of John Forsyth in that parking lot, and there 163 00:10:20,765 --> 00:10:23,965 Speaker 1: was absolutely no proof that John Forsyth left the scene 164 00:10:24,325 --> 00:10:28,045 Speaker 1: in that white suv or in any other car. All 165 00:10:28,125 --> 00:10:31,325 Speaker 1: the police had was this black blur. They said that 166 00:10:31,365 --> 00:10:34,085 Speaker 1: they saw a car pull in at seven twelve, the 167 00:10:34,125 --> 00:10:36,645 Speaker 1: one that they thought might be John's car and they 168 00:10:36,685 --> 00:10:39,605 Speaker 1: never saw it leave. They did not see that they 169 00:10:39,605 --> 00:10:42,725 Speaker 1: had seen John get out of that car. Of course, 170 00:10:43,165 --> 00:10:45,885 Speaker 1: anytime someone goes missing, there is a lot of public 171 00:10:45,925 --> 00:10:48,685 Speaker 1: attention on their lives, and if they have any secrets, 172 00:10:48,725 --> 00:10:53,885 Speaker 1: they often become public. Richard revealed something else he said. 173 00:10:54,085 --> 00:10:57,685 Speaker 1: Shortly after John went missing, Richard was contacted by a 174 00:10:57,805 --> 00:11:01,125 Speaker 1: mutual acquaintance of theirs who had a story about John 175 00:11:01,205 --> 00:11:03,525 Speaker 1: going through a life threatening situation the year before. 176 00:11:04,685 --> 00:11:04,965 Speaker 2: Now. 177 00:11:05,005 --> 00:11:08,405 Speaker 1: Apparently, according to Richard, John had told his friend he 178 00:11:08,445 --> 00:11:12,725 Speaker 1: had been kidnapped in twenty twenty two. John apparently told 179 00:11:12,725 --> 00:11:15,645 Speaker 1: the friend he had been bound with zip ties, blackmailed, 180 00:11:15,685 --> 00:11:18,925 Speaker 1: taken to a bridge, and threatened. I guess he eventually 181 00:11:18,925 --> 00:11:20,885 Speaker 1: paid the money or came to some sort of resolution 182 00:11:20,965 --> 00:11:24,885 Speaker 1: with these alleged kidnappers and was returned unharmed. But Richard 183 00:11:25,005 --> 00:11:28,565 Speaker 1: said that John never reported anything to the police, so 184 00:11:28,685 --> 00:11:31,205 Speaker 1: this fueled the theory that John could have been kidnapped 185 00:11:31,205 --> 00:11:34,925 Speaker 1: by business associates, or maybe that his life had been 186 00:11:34,925 --> 00:11:37,965 Speaker 1: threatened and he had to leave for some reason. Referring 187 00:11:37,965 --> 00:11:41,365 Speaker 1: to the kidnapping, Richard also said, quote it should be 188 00:11:41,445 --> 00:11:44,165 Speaker 1: said that he was kidnapped in twenty twenty two, and 189 00:11:44,205 --> 00:11:47,125 Speaker 1: that was crypto related. A lot of people are connecting 190 00:11:47,125 --> 00:11:50,925 Speaker 1: that dot with recent events. End quote. Richard had no 191 00:11:51,045 --> 00:11:54,405 Speaker 1: real details about the alleged kidnappers, except to say that 192 00:11:54,445 --> 00:11:57,965 Speaker 1: they had had Eastern European accents. He did say, however, 193 00:11:58,165 --> 00:12:02,765 Speaker 1: he didn't necessarily believe that John's previous kidnappers were responsible 194 00:12:02,805 --> 00:12:05,405 Speaker 1: for his disappearance. He didn't believe they would have been 195 00:12:05,365 --> 00:12:07,845 Speaker 1: motivated to come all the way to Missouri to kidnap 196 00:12:07,925 --> 00:12:12,365 Speaker 1: him again. I have a lot of questions about this story. 197 00:12:12,405 --> 00:12:15,765 Speaker 1: First of all, I'm wondering who was this friend who 198 00:12:15,845 --> 00:12:18,605 Speaker 1: talked about the kidnapping, Who was the source of this story, 199 00:12:19,005 --> 00:12:22,205 Speaker 1: because the only person we're hearing this from was Richard. 200 00:12:23,005 --> 00:12:25,965 Speaker 1: I have questions about the alleged kidnapping because, to be honest, 201 00:12:26,605 --> 00:12:29,085 Speaker 1: it sounds like it could be a made up story. 202 00:12:30,205 --> 00:12:32,565 Speaker 1: It did seem like some of John's friends and family 203 00:12:32,645 --> 00:12:35,445 Speaker 1: considered the possibility that John could have come up with 204 00:12:35,485 --> 00:12:38,685 Speaker 1: a way to disappear for a while. I can't blame 205 00:12:38,725 --> 00:12:41,925 Speaker 1: them for hoping that that might happen, that John might resurface. 206 00:12:42,925 --> 00:12:45,965 Speaker 1: John's sister, Tiffany wrote a post on the Facebook page 207 00:12:45,965 --> 00:12:49,645 Speaker 1: in memory of doctor John Forsyth. It read quote, I 208 00:12:49,685 --> 00:12:52,765 Speaker 1: think Johnny was a bit of an antihero, mischievous, flawed 209 00:12:52,805 --> 00:12:55,925 Speaker 1: in many ways, but kinder and more generous than some 210 00:12:56,085 --> 00:12:59,125 Speaker 1: might give him credit for. He was fond of hyperbole, 211 00:12:59,565 --> 00:13:01,965 Speaker 1: effusive in his praise of other people, and a natural 212 00:13:02,005 --> 00:13:05,365 Speaker 1: storyteller with a comedian sense of timing. He could bring 213 00:13:05,565 --> 00:13:08,925 Speaker 1: a whole room to tears with laughter. His persona was 214 00:13:08,965 --> 00:13:13,005 Speaker 1: a contradictory mix of easygoing charm and sharp, focused intensity, 215 00:13:13,925 --> 00:13:16,805 Speaker 1: unflinchingly outspoken but hard to really know. 216 00:13:17,285 --> 00:13:17,725 Speaker 2: End quote. 217 00:13:18,565 --> 00:13:21,565 Speaker 1: So this picture was emerging of John as this person 218 00:13:21,605 --> 00:13:26,405 Speaker 1: who was super smart but also somewhat mysterious. A lot 219 00:13:26,445 --> 00:13:30,005 Speaker 1: of people, including former patients, posted nice things about John. 220 00:13:30,525 --> 00:13:32,965 Speaker 1: They said how much John had help them and help 221 00:13:33,005 --> 00:13:36,405 Speaker 1: their children, how caring he was with his patients, and 222 00:13:36,645 --> 00:13:40,605 Speaker 1: how kind he was. His sister Gina thought maybe he 223 00:13:40,765 --> 00:13:44,045 Speaker 1: had wanted to leave, maybe bail out for a few weeks, 224 00:13:44,085 --> 00:13:47,085 Speaker 1: to hide from something. She said, quote, he is the 225 00:13:47,125 --> 00:13:50,165 Speaker 1: smartest person I know. He planned something. It's going to 226 00:13:50,205 --> 00:13:53,125 Speaker 1: be this mission impossible escape plan. He's going to come 227 00:13:53,165 --> 00:13:54,805 Speaker 1: back and everything is going to be okay. 228 00:13:55,045 --> 00:13:56,285 Speaker 2: End quote. 229 00:13:57,045 --> 00:14:01,285 Speaker 1: But if John did plan this, he seemed to take 230 00:14:01,405 --> 00:14:04,365 Speaker 1: nothing with him. If he had left town, it seemed 231 00:14:04,365 --> 00:14:06,325 Speaker 1: like he did it with no money and no activity 232 00:14:06,365 --> 00:14:09,405 Speaker 1: on his credit cards. But we know that he had 233 00:14:09,445 --> 00:14:13,885 Speaker 1: invested in cryptocurrency, so conceivably he could have had another 234 00:14:13,965 --> 00:14:16,045 Speaker 1: source of funds out there that no one knew about, 235 00:14:16,085 --> 00:14:20,845 Speaker 1: maybe in a digital wallet. This fueled the conspiracy theories 236 00:14:20,885 --> 00:14:24,485 Speaker 1: and the idea, sometimes the hope that John might be 237 00:14:24,525 --> 00:14:27,885 Speaker 1: alive somewhere else, living his best life. But that hope 238 00:14:27,885 --> 00:14:31,805 Speaker 1: did not last long because on May thirtieth, twenty twenty three, 239 00:14:32,325 --> 00:14:36,045 Speaker 1: two kayakers were paddling through Beaver Lake on the Arkansas 240 00:14:36,085 --> 00:14:39,325 Speaker 1: side of the Ozarks when they saw something they thought 241 00:14:39,365 --> 00:14:42,685 Speaker 1: looked like a dead animal. According to the news station 242 00:14:42,885 --> 00:14:46,805 Speaker 1: KY three, they started paddling to take a closer look. 243 00:14:48,085 --> 00:14:51,085 Speaker 1: That's when they realized this was a human body. They 244 00:14:51,125 --> 00:14:55,165 Speaker 1: called nine one one. Soon word got around this was 245 00:14:55,245 --> 00:15:06,845 Speaker 1: the body of doctor John Forsyth. Days after doctor John 246 00:15:06,885 --> 00:15:11,005 Speaker 1: Forsyth went missing, his body was found across the Arkansas 247 00:15:11,005 --> 00:15:14,725 Speaker 1: border in beaver Lake. This was about twenty five miles 248 00:15:14,765 --> 00:15:18,725 Speaker 1: away from Cassville, where he disappeared. From Authorities said that 249 00:15:18,765 --> 00:15:22,205 Speaker 1: the body had sustained a gunshot wound, but they gave 250 00:15:22,285 --> 00:15:25,765 Speaker 1: no further information about where the bullet hit. They said 251 00:15:25,765 --> 00:15:27,485 Speaker 1: they were waiting on autopsy results. 252 00:15:28,165 --> 00:15:28,325 Speaker 2: Now. 253 00:15:28,325 --> 00:15:30,445 Speaker 1: Of course, because there was a body found with a 254 00:15:30,445 --> 00:15:33,565 Speaker 1: gunshot wound, and because of the way that John went missing, 255 00:15:34,245 --> 00:15:37,285 Speaker 1: this had some people wondering whether there was a chance 256 00:15:37,365 --> 00:15:41,125 Speaker 1: that John could have taken his own life, especially once 257 00:15:41,285 --> 00:15:44,405 Speaker 1: Richard revealed that John had been killed by a single 258 00:15:44,485 --> 00:15:48,045 Speaker 1: gunshot wound to the head. But Richard and the rest 259 00:15:48,045 --> 00:15:50,365 Speaker 1: of John's family were adamant. They said they could not 260 00:15:50,485 --> 00:15:53,165 Speaker 1: believe that this had been a suicide. They said, yes, 261 00:15:53,325 --> 00:15:56,805 Speaker 1: John had been going through a divorce, but they said 262 00:15:56,845 --> 00:16:00,125 Speaker 1: after a tumultuous time, he was in a good place financially. 263 00:16:00,205 --> 00:16:04,605 Speaker 1: The divorce was settled. Now that investigators had a body, 264 00:16:04,965 --> 00:16:08,285 Speaker 1: they started looking even further into John's personal life and 265 00:16:08,365 --> 00:16:12,965 Speaker 1: his business dealings. John Forsyth was born in nineteen seventy four. 266 00:16:13,405 --> 00:16:16,085 Speaker 1: He grew up in a Mormon family. He was one 267 00:16:16,085 --> 00:16:18,605 Speaker 1: of six children and was close to all of his siblings. 268 00:16:19,285 --> 00:16:21,845 Speaker 1: John was a good doctor. He went to medical school 269 00:16:21,845 --> 00:16:24,365 Speaker 1: in Barbados and had been working at Mercy Hospital for 270 00:16:24,405 --> 00:16:27,765 Speaker 1: fifteen years. And as we said, he was well liked 271 00:16:27,805 --> 00:16:32,165 Speaker 1: by his patients and his colleagues. And the community. According 272 00:16:32,205 --> 00:16:35,245 Speaker 1: to court records, John did have a wrongful death lawsuit 273 00:16:35,325 --> 00:16:38,765 Speaker 1: filed against him in twenty twenty two. It was later settled. 274 00:16:38,765 --> 00:16:41,565 Speaker 1: The settlement was confidential, so we don't know exactly how 275 00:16:41,645 --> 00:16:45,085 Speaker 1: much it was settled for. But this isn't unusual for 276 00:16:45,125 --> 00:16:49,165 Speaker 1: a doctor. One lawsuit in fifteen years is completely normal. 277 00:16:49,605 --> 00:16:52,045 Speaker 1: First of all, we live in a very litigious country, 278 00:16:52,245 --> 00:16:55,805 Speaker 1: so anyone can be sued at any time. Secondly, even 279 00:16:55,845 --> 00:16:59,125 Speaker 1: if lawsuits do have merit, doctors are human just like 280 00:16:59,165 --> 00:17:02,925 Speaker 1: anyone else. They do make mistakes. That's actually what malpractice 281 00:17:02,925 --> 00:17:05,325 Speaker 1: insurance is for. So I don't see anything out of 282 00:17:05,325 --> 00:17:09,405 Speaker 1: the ordinary in that lawsuit. John met his first wife 283 00:17:09,445 --> 00:17:12,285 Speaker 1: in high school. They started dating when they were teenagers, 284 00:17:12,325 --> 00:17:14,605 Speaker 1: and they got married in Nevada in the mid nineties. 285 00:17:15,085 --> 00:17:18,245 Speaker 1: They had seven children together, and then they filed for 286 00:17:18,285 --> 00:17:22,405 Speaker 1: divorce in April twenty nineteen. But John and his wife 287 00:17:22,405 --> 00:17:25,965 Speaker 1: got back together and they remarried in twenty twenty. Then 288 00:17:26,325 --> 00:17:30,125 Speaker 1: in twenty twenty two, they started divorce proceedings again in Missouri. 289 00:17:31,005 --> 00:17:34,125 Speaker 1: In fact, their second divorce had been settled just ten 290 00:17:34,205 --> 00:17:39,085 Speaker 1: days before John disappeared. Now John also has an eighth 291 00:17:39,165 --> 00:17:41,685 Speaker 1: child with another woman who was not his wife or 292 00:17:41,685 --> 00:17:45,485 Speaker 1: his girlfriend. It's not clear what the exact timeline was 293 00:17:45,525 --> 00:17:48,365 Speaker 1: in that relationship, but we know that John and his 294 00:17:48,405 --> 00:17:52,285 Speaker 1: wife split up for a period of time. Apparently, even 295 00:17:52,365 --> 00:17:55,885 Speaker 1: with the romantic complications, John was a good father and 296 00:17:56,005 --> 00:18:00,565 Speaker 1: active in all of his kids' lives. So let's take 297 00:18:00,605 --> 00:18:04,285 Speaker 1: a closer look at those divorce filings. What was John's 298 00:18:04,285 --> 00:18:07,885 Speaker 1: net worth? Divorce have played any role in his disappearance. 299 00:18:08,885 --> 00:18:12,245 Speaker 1: In cases like this, we do have to follow the money. 300 00:18:13,045 --> 00:18:17,005 Speaker 1: According to court documents, the judge valued John's bitcoin holdings 301 00:18:17,085 --> 00:18:20,805 Speaker 1: at over eight hundred thousand dollars. The judge ordered him 302 00:18:20,805 --> 00:18:23,485 Speaker 1: to pay a total of nineteen thousand dollars per month 303 00:18:23,525 --> 00:18:26,645 Speaker 1: to his ex wife, four thousand dollars in child support 304 00:18:26,765 --> 00:18:30,565 Speaker 1: fifteen thousand per month in alimony. It seemed like John 305 00:18:30,685 --> 00:18:33,965 Speaker 1: and his ex wife's financial dealings were pretty amicable. Yes, 306 00:18:34,085 --> 00:18:37,645 Speaker 1: this is a lot of money, but John disclosed his 307 00:18:37,725 --> 00:18:40,125 Speaker 1: finances to the court and the judge set what they 308 00:18:40,125 --> 00:18:43,965 Speaker 1: deemed to be an appropriate amount of child support. John's 309 00:18:44,005 --> 00:18:47,685 Speaker 1: family said that for John, money was not an issue. 310 00:18:47,965 --> 00:18:51,885 Speaker 1: They said he did not have money worries. And side 311 00:18:51,965 --> 00:18:56,125 Speaker 1: note here, I come from a family of medical professionals. 312 00:18:56,165 --> 00:18:59,565 Speaker 1: Almost everyone is a doctor or nurse, including a lot 313 00:18:59,565 --> 00:19:03,845 Speaker 1: of er doctors, and some people were questioning John's salary. 314 00:19:03,925 --> 00:19:06,725 Speaker 1: I will say EO, our doctors and these type of 315 00:19:06,725 --> 00:19:11,845 Speaker 1: communities who work a lot can easily earn between three 316 00:19:11,925 --> 00:19:14,605 Speaker 1: and four hundred thousand dollars a year, and that would 317 00:19:14,605 --> 00:19:16,965 Speaker 1: have been in addition to any crypto holdings that he had. 318 00:19:18,565 --> 00:19:21,285 Speaker 1: John's payments to his ex wife had just started on 319 00:19:21,365 --> 00:19:24,405 Speaker 1: May fifteenth of twenty twenty three. They were set to 320 00:19:24,445 --> 00:19:29,285 Speaker 1: continue until John's death or until his ex wife remarried. Tiffany, 321 00:19:29,365 --> 00:19:33,445 Speaker 1: John's sister, said that John's main priority, above his work, 322 00:19:33,525 --> 00:19:37,925 Speaker 1: above everything, was being a good father. She said, quote 323 00:19:38,645 --> 00:19:41,685 Speaker 1: Johnny said, that is how I measure men. That is 324 00:19:41,725 --> 00:19:44,285 Speaker 1: the most important quality that a man can have is 325 00:19:44,325 --> 00:19:45,285 Speaker 1: to be a good dad. 326 00:19:45,565 --> 00:19:46,045 Speaker 2: End quote. 327 00:19:47,245 --> 00:19:49,925 Speaker 1: After John and his wife divorced for the second time, 328 00:19:50,285 --> 00:19:53,365 Speaker 1: he started a relationship with someone new, a thirty nine 329 00:19:53,405 --> 00:19:56,085 Speaker 1: year old nurse who referred to John as the love 330 00:19:56,125 --> 00:20:00,085 Speaker 1: of her life. It turned out that they were actually engaged. 331 00:20:00,605 --> 00:20:03,685 Speaker 1: John had proposed to his girlfriend just seventy two hours 332 00:20:03,685 --> 00:20:08,365 Speaker 1: before he disappeared. And then there was another bombshell dropped, 333 00:20:08,845 --> 00:20:11,325 Speaker 1: one that no one in John's family appeared to know 334 00:20:12,365 --> 00:20:19,205 Speaker 1: at the time when John went missing his fiancee was pregnant. 335 00:20:19,525 --> 00:20:22,965 Speaker 1: A few weeks after John's body was found, John's fiance 336 00:20:23,165 --> 00:20:25,445 Speaker 1: gave birth to their child, and they are both reportedly 337 00:20:25,445 --> 00:20:28,765 Speaker 1: doing well. John's family seemed to be a little bit 338 00:20:28,805 --> 00:20:31,525 Speaker 1: shocked by the news that John and his girlfriend were 339 00:20:31,525 --> 00:20:34,965 Speaker 1: engaged in having a baby, but his brother now said 340 00:20:35,365 --> 00:20:39,005 Speaker 1: he believed that John was waiting until the divorce was final, which, 341 00:20:39,045 --> 00:20:41,885 Speaker 1: as we said, had just happened, before introducing his family 342 00:20:41,925 --> 00:20:46,445 Speaker 1: to his fiance. John's ex wife's attorney, Ryan Ricketts, talked 343 00:20:46,445 --> 00:20:50,405 Speaker 1: to the media. He said John's ex wife was devastated 344 00:20:50,605 --> 00:20:53,845 Speaker 1: by what happened to John. Apparently, she lives in Idaho 345 00:20:54,045 --> 00:20:58,165 Speaker 1: and is keeping her grief private. Even with everything going 346 00:20:58,245 --> 00:21:01,645 Speaker 1: on in his life, John's family remained convinced that he 347 00:21:01,685 --> 00:21:05,205 Speaker 1: did not take his own life. Richard Forsyth said that 348 00:21:05,805 --> 00:21:08,725 Speaker 1: before John went missing, they had dinner together. He said 349 00:21:08,805 --> 00:21:11,685 Speaker 1: John showed no signs of distress. In fact, he said 350 00:21:11,725 --> 00:21:15,125 Speaker 1: John was excited about his life. John had plans to 351 00:21:15,165 --> 00:21:17,445 Speaker 1: go visit one of his older daughters in Utah the 352 00:21:17,525 --> 00:21:19,485 Speaker 1: day after he went missing. He had already bought his 353 00:21:19,485 --> 00:21:23,245 Speaker 1: plane tickets, and John was super excited about his new 354 00:21:23,285 --> 00:21:26,685 Speaker 1: life with his girlfriend. Richard said that his brother had 355 00:21:26,685 --> 00:21:29,645 Speaker 1: told him quote I can't wait to introduce her to you. 356 00:21:29,845 --> 00:21:32,165 Speaker 1: We're going to have a wonderful life together. We're all 357 00:21:32,165 --> 00:21:33,805 Speaker 1: going to spend a lot of time together. 358 00:21:33,965 --> 00:21:35,165 Speaker 2: End quote. 359 00:21:35,245 --> 00:21:39,325 Speaker 1: The news station Kyfe III and the program Ozark Unsolved 360 00:21:39,365 --> 00:21:41,725 Speaker 1: has done a lot of investigative work on this case. 361 00:21:42,445 --> 00:21:44,845 Speaker 1: They did an interview with John's sister, Tiffany, and she 362 00:21:45,085 --> 00:21:48,965 Speaker 1: told Ozark's Unsolved that John kept parts of his life 363 00:21:49,005 --> 00:21:51,245 Speaker 1: separate and that he'd always kind of been that way. 364 00:21:52,125 --> 00:21:55,165 Speaker 1: She said something that I thought was very revealing. She said, 365 00:21:55,245 --> 00:21:57,405 Speaker 1: quote I think that he had buckets that he put 366 00:21:57,445 --> 00:21:59,885 Speaker 1: stuff in. You know, this is what you get to 367 00:21:59,885 --> 00:22:05,005 Speaker 1: know about me. End quote. So this case is very 368 00:22:05,045 --> 00:22:08,165 Speaker 1: strange because you have all these pieces of evidence that 369 00:22:08,165 --> 00:22:11,125 Speaker 1: seem to conflict with each other. You have the car 370 00:22:11,205 --> 00:22:14,925 Speaker 1: left in a remote location with John's belongings inside that 371 00:22:15,125 --> 00:22:18,605 Speaker 1: makes it seem like someone who may have gone missing voluntarily, 372 00:22:19,045 --> 00:22:21,765 Speaker 1: which we now know did not happen, or if he 373 00:22:21,885 --> 00:22:25,005 Speaker 1: did go missing voluntarily, it appears that something went horribly 374 00:22:25,045 --> 00:22:28,725 Speaker 1: wrong with his plan, which leaves a couple of possibilities. 375 00:22:29,325 --> 00:22:32,805 Speaker 1: One that John left his stuff there, then went to 376 00:22:32,885 --> 00:22:35,445 Speaker 1: Beaver Lake and took his own life. 377 00:22:35,485 --> 00:22:35,925 Speaker 2: I think this. 378 00:22:35,965 --> 00:22:40,605 Speaker 1: Seems extremely unlikely. First of all, if that was his plan, 379 00:22:40,765 --> 00:22:42,605 Speaker 1: how did he get there? How did he get to 380 00:22:42,685 --> 00:22:46,485 Speaker 1: Beaver Lake from that parking lot? Walking there would be 381 00:22:46,565 --> 00:22:50,125 Speaker 1: next to impossible given that terrain. This is the Ozarks 382 00:22:50,445 --> 00:22:54,845 Speaker 1: with a skinny highway that winds through mountains. While it's 383 00:22:54,925 --> 00:22:57,565 Speaker 1: theoretically possible that he could have waded out into a 384 00:22:57,605 --> 00:23:00,405 Speaker 1: body of water and shot himself in the head, I 385 00:23:00,445 --> 00:23:04,205 Speaker 1: think the evidence does not seem to point in that direction. Again, 386 00:23:04,405 --> 00:23:07,565 Speaker 1: Beaver Lake is several miles away from where John's car 387 00:23:07,645 --> 00:23:10,925 Speaker 1: was parked. You have to go through single lane highways 388 00:23:10,965 --> 00:23:14,045 Speaker 1: through the Ozark Mountains. This is not somewhere where John 389 00:23:14,045 --> 00:23:16,285 Speaker 1: could have walked. He would have had to walk for 390 00:23:16,405 --> 00:23:19,445 Speaker 1: hours through some very rough terrain. And also, if he 391 00:23:19,485 --> 00:23:22,285 Speaker 1: had been walking along that narrow highway with no shoulder, 392 00:23:22,885 --> 00:23:26,165 Speaker 1: someone would have seen him. Could someone have picked him 393 00:23:26,205 --> 00:23:29,085 Speaker 1: up in that parking lot, maybe lured him there, set 394 00:23:29,125 --> 00:23:32,485 Speaker 1: a meeting with him under false pretenses, then taken him 395 00:23:32,525 --> 00:23:37,285 Speaker 1: to Beaver Lake and shot him. I think that is possible. Again, 396 00:23:37,485 --> 00:23:40,325 Speaker 1: the cameras did not see John, but it is possible 397 00:23:40,325 --> 00:23:41,925 Speaker 1: that he did get out of his car and walk 398 00:23:41,965 --> 00:23:45,365 Speaker 1: away on his own. I do think that it's possible 399 00:23:45,405 --> 00:23:47,445 Speaker 1: that John was meeting someone in that parking lot and 400 00:23:47,485 --> 00:23:50,885 Speaker 1: then he was picked up there. But there's another possibility 401 00:23:50,885 --> 00:23:53,485 Speaker 1: that I think is slightly more likely that it was 402 00:23:53,565 --> 00:23:56,045 Speaker 1: not John who parked the car there at all, but 403 00:23:56,165 --> 00:23:59,885 Speaker 1: someone else, someone who wanted to stage a scene and 404 00:24:00,005 --> 00:24:02,125 Speaker 1: make it seem like the parking lot was the last 405 00:24:02,165 --> 00:24:06,365 Speaker 1: place John had been spotted. So let's go back a 406 00:24:06,405 --> 00:24:08,725 Speaker 1: minute and look at what John's friends and family have 407 00:24:08,805 --> 00:24:12,125 Speaker 1: been telling the media. I'm especially interested again in this 408 00:24:12,205 --> 00:24:16,845 Speaker 1: supposed kidnapping story. Richard told the local news station KY 409 00:24:16,885 --> 00:24:21,885 Speaker 1: three that John had some shady business associates, and he 410 00:24:21,925 --> 00:24:25,685 Speaker 1: gave more details on the alleged kidnapping. He said, quote, 411 00:24:25,845 --> 00:24:28,245 Speaker 1: what we know is that there's an account of a kidnapping. 412 00:24:28,605 --> 00:24:31,965 Speaker 1: According to this mutual acquaintance, John shows up on a 413 00:24:32,005 --> 00:24:35,805 Speaker 1: February evening, extremely cold, zip tied at the wrist, put 414 00:24:35,805 --> 00:24:38,685 Speaker 1: into a shower to warm up, and tells a tale 415 00:24:38,725 --> 00:24:41,445 Speaker 1: of being put into a car, some sort of arrangement 416 00:24:41,485 --> 00:24:43,765 Speaker 1: that he made, and he was released. Those are the 417 00:24:43,845 --> 00:24:45,765 Speaker 1: essentials of the story that was being told to me 418 00:24:46,205 --> 00:24:50,565 Speaker 1: end quote again, who is this mutual acquaintance? Was this 419 00:24:50,605 --> 00:24:53,685 Speaker 1: someone Richard knew or just someone who happened to show 420 00:24:53,805 --> 00:24:56,725 Speaker 1: up after John went missing? Have the police talk to 421 00:24:56,725 --> 00:25:02,325 Speaker 1: this person? Because on the surface, these Eastern European zip 422 00:25:02,365 --> 00:25:07,805 Speaker 1: tie kidnappers remind me of the made up assailants in 423 00:25:07,845 --> 00:25:10,245 Speaker 1: some other cases, like the Diane Downs case where you 424 00:25:10,285 --> 00:25:13,325 Speaker 1: had the bushy haired stranger who supposedly shot her children, 425 00:25:13,565 --> 00:25:19,085 Speaker 1: or in the Sherry Peppini kidnapping case, the two Hispanic assailants. 426 00:25:19,805 --> 00:25:22,525 Speaker 1: But before I could make a determination on that, we 427 00:25:22,645 --> 00:25:25,405 Speaker 1: need to find out who this mutual acquaintance is and 428 00:25:25,445 --> 00:25:27,645 Speaker 1: who they talked to and if the police have talked 429 00:25:27,685 --> 00:25:31,005 Speaker 1: to them. As part of this interview with the news station, 430 00:25:31,645 --> 00:25:36,765 Speaker 1: the reporter asked Richard about his theories. Because Richard has 431 00:25:36,885 --> 00:25:39,925 Speaker 1: been in the crypto business with John, the reporter wanted 432 00:25:39,925 --> 00:25:42,365 Speaker 1: to know if Richard ever felt that his life was 433 00:25:42,365 --> 00:25:46,365 Speaker 1: in danger. Richard said that John never made him feel 434 00:25:46,405 --> 00:25:49,925 Speaker 1: like they should be afraid, but he said, in hindsight, 435 00:25:50,445 --> 00:25:52,605 Speaker 1: after all this came out about the alleged kidnapping, he 436 00:25:52,645 --> 00:25:56,165 Speaker 1: thought maybe he should have been scared. Richard said, quote, 437 00:25:56,885 --> 00:25:59,125 Speaker 1: he must have a lot of secrets, certainly more than 438 00:25:59,165 --> 00:26:01,685 Speaker 1: I do. I don't know how he juggled these things. 439 00:26:02,205 --> 00:26:04,525 Speaker 1: It must have created a lot of pressure for him. 440 00:26:04,645 --> 00:26:05,165 Speaker 2: End quote. 441 00:26:05,805 --> 00:26:08,765 Speaker 1: Now, when you say crypto, a lot of people automatically 442 00:26:08,805 --> 00:26:12,085 Speaker 1: assume that this must be some type of dangerous conspiracy 443 00:26:12,245 --> 00:26:15,565 Speaker 1: or part of the dark web. But was this crypto 444 00:26:15,605 --> 00:26:18,805 Speaker 1: stuff really a danger to John's existence? Was it even 445 00:26:18,845 --> 00:26:22,725 Speaker 1: a real business? Let's take a closer look. So we 446 00:26:22,805 --> 00:26:25,445 Speaker 1: know John and Richard Forsyth have been partners in a 447 00:26:25,445 --> 00:26:29,165 Speaker 1: couple of different ventures. They founded what was described as 448 00:26:29,205 --> 00:26:33,565 Speaker 1: a crypto coin physical coin hybrid called Alaton. They also 449 00:26:33,645 --> 00:26:36,605 Speaker 1: had another project at one point called Ambycard, plus a 450 00:26:36,605 --> 00:26:40,325 Speaker 1: few other companies. There was a big story about Alaton 451 00:26:40,365 --> 00:26:43,605 Speaker 1: a few years ago in Vice. The article was called 452 00:26:43,605 --> 00:26:48,445 Speaker 1: the Great Physical Bitcoin Robbery. So what John and Richard 453 00:26:48,485 --> 00:26:52,485 Speaker 1: created was like commemorative coins, but they were backed by bitcoin. 454 00:26:52,965 --> 00:26:55,645 Speaker 1: So how it worked is that the customers would buy 455 00:26:55,685 --> 00:26:59,325 Speaker 1: a certain amount of bitcoin and then Alaton would engrave 456 00:26:59,605 --> 00:27:03,845 Speaker 1: the physical coin with the private key. The key is 457 00:27:03,845 --> 00:27:06,205 Speaker 1: the code that you need to access the digital wallet 458 00:27:06,445 --> 00:27:09,645 Speaker 1: to get to your money. So the brothers describe their 459 00:27:09,685 --> 00:27:12,725 Speaker 1: company as kind of a private mint, so they combined 460 00:27:12,725 --> 00:27:17,045 Speaker 1: a physical coin with digital currency. They claimed that they 461 00:27:17,085 --> 00:27:20,845 Speaker 1: had a type of proprietary technology that would allow the 462 00:27:20,925 --> 00:27:24,085 Speaker 1: private key to be printed on the coin, but apparently 463 00:27:24,485 --> 00:27:26,925 Speaker 1: kept it hidden somehow. I'm not sure how it worked. 464 00:27:26,965 --> 00:27:30,045 Speaker 1: I'm not a crypto expert, but I do know something 465 00:27:30,085 --> 00:27:33,565 Speaker 1: went wrong because a bunch of the coins were stolen 466 00:27:34,125 --> 00:27:37,445 Speaker 1: at the time. Richard told Weiss that he and John 467 00:27:37,565 --> 00:27:40,165 Speaker 1: believed that it had to be someone close to them 468 00:27:40,205 --> 00:27:43,605 Speaker 1: who had stolen the coins. He said they would reimburse 469 00:27:43,685 --> 00:27:46,765 Speaker 1: the customers who had lost some of their bitcoin, but 470 00:27:46,885 --> 00:27:49,645 Speaker 1: Richard admitted they were having a problem because between the 471 00:27:49,725 --> 00:27:51,885 Speaker 1: time when they issued these coins and the time when 472 00:27:51,885 --> 00:27:55,525 Speaker 1: they were stolen, bitcoin had gone up dramatically in value. 473 00:27:55,645 --> 00:27:59,645 Speaker 1: So Richard told their customers that they would give them refunds, 474 00:27:59,885 --> 00:28:03,405 Speaker 1: but apparently they only offered refunds for a period of 475 00:28:03,485 --> 00:28:06,685 Speaker 1: a month. This must have made a lot of customers 476 00:28:06,925 --> 00:28:09,125 Speaker 1: really angry, because I'm sure a lot of people lost 477 00:28:09,165 --> 00:28:13,845 Speaker 1: money there, and afterwards people had questions like was their 478 00:28:14,045 --> 00:28:16,965 Speaker 1: proof that the coins had ever been stolen at all? 479 00:28:17,125 --> 00:28:21,365 Speaker 1: What exactly went down there? After that business folded in 480 00:28:21,365 --> 00:28:25,125 Speaker 1: twenty eighteen, John and Richard went into business together again. 481 00:28:25,165 --> 00:28:28,645 Speaker 1: They created a crypto company that they named ONFO. They 482 00:28:28,725 --> 00:28:33,325 Speaker 1: called this a network mining venture. So Richard said, the 483 00:28:33,365 --> 00:28:37,925 Speaker 1: way that this worked was that users of ONFO, instead 484 00:28:37,925 --> 00:28:42,205 Speaker 1: of actually spending money, could earn credits by referring other 485 00:28:42,285 --> 00:28:46,485 Speaker 1: members to their company. They have a YouTube video posted 486 00:28:46,525 --> 00:28:49,285 Speaker 1: that basically says, you can't trust the government. You can't 487 00:28:49,285 --> 00:28:53,525 Speaker 1: trust government issued currency, trust our currency, trust our network. 488 00:28:54,525 --> 00:28:59,045 Speaker 1: You're being manipulated and lied to and you're being robbed 489 00:29:00,165 --> 00:29:04,685 Speaker 1: every day. But the Associated Press did a story on this. 490 00:29:05,045 --> 00:29:07,925 Speaker 1: They inner if you'd an expert who investigates crypto schemes, 491 00:29:08,005 --> 00:29:12,685 Speaker 1: and this expert said, in their opinion, John and Richard's 492 00:29:12,685 --> 00:29:17,045 Speaker 1: business resembled a pyramid scheme from what the expert told 493 00:29:17,085 --> 00:29:20,685 Speaker 1: the Associated Press, what I'm reading between the lines is 494 00:29:20,725 --> 00:29:23,645 Speaker 1: that what John and Richard were doing sounds like a 495 00:29:23,725 --> 00:29:28,245 Speaker 1: classic MLM or multi level marketing scheme. I'm not going 496 00:29:28,325 --> 00:29:31,165 Speaker 1: to say it's definitely a scam, but as someone who 497 00:29:31,245 --> 00:29:34,085 Speaker 1: does a lot of fraud investigation, in my opinion, it 498 00:29:34,205 --> 00:29:38,205 Speaker 1: certainly raises a lot of red flags. Now, Richard has 499 00:29:38,245 --> 00:29:42,045 Speaker 1: said that their intention was never really to make money 500 00:29:42,045 --> 00:29:44,925 Speaker 1: on this. In fact, he said they lost millions of dollars. 501 00:29:45,325 --> 00:29:47,565 Speaker 1: He said they were not motivated by money, that he 502 00:29:47,645 --> 00:29:50,605 Speaker 1: and John had wanted to help people. From what he said, 503 00:29:50,605 --> 00:29:52,685 Speaker 1: it seemed like he and John had been discussed by 504 00:29:52,725 --> 00:29:56,565 Speaker 1: what the cryptoculture had become about people driving Lamborghinis and 505 00:29:57,085 --> 00:30:00,165 Speaker 1: all this conspicuous consumption. He said they wanted to give 506 00:30:00,205 --> 00:30:04,045 Speaker 1: people in developing nations the chance to acquire some crypto. 507 00:30:05,485 --> 00:30:08,325 Speaker 1: Going in depth into that company would be way beyond 508 00:30:08,365 --> 00:30:13,045 Speaker 1: the scope of this podcast. But it's unclear exactly how 509 00:30:13,125 --> 00:30:16,445 Speaker 1: much money they walked away from in that deal, what 510 00:30:16,685 --> 00:30:20,045 Speaker 1: was really going on with John's net worth. Again, in 511 00:30:20,125 --> 00:30:23,165 Speaker 1: a case like this, it makes sense to follow the money. 512 00:30:23,205 --> 00:30:26,085 Speaker 1: It's not clear how deeply the police have looked into 513 00:30:26,125 --> 00:30:28,845 Speaker 1: John's finances or if, and I don't mean this as 514 00:30:28,845 --> 00:30:31,365 Speaker 1: an insult at all, if they would even know how, 515 00:30:31,725 --> 00:30:34,645 Speaker 1: if they would have the expertise to look into crypto accounts. 516 00:30:35,045 --> 00:30:38,125 Speaker 1: This stuff is complicated and fraud is not something that 517 00:30:38,165 --> 00:30:40,445 Speaker 1: the police have a good handle on in a lot 518 00:30:40,445 --> 00:30:43,525 Speaker 1: of these cases. But from the way that this case 519 00:30:43,525 --> 00:30:46,605 Speaker 1: has been unfolding, it does seem that the police were 520 00:30:46,685 --> 00:30:51,325 Speaker 1: skeptical of Richard. Richard admitted this openly He said that 521 00:30:51,365 --> 00:30:55,165 Speaker 1: the Benton County Sheriff's Office wasn't really sharing information with him. 522 00:30:55,725 --> 00:30:59,565 Speaker 1: Benton County, Arkansas, was in charge of the investigation because 523 00:30:59,605 --> 00:31:03,285 Speaker 1: John's body had been found there. According to public record, 524 00:31:04,005 --> 00:31:07,285 Speaker 1: Richard has also been married and divorced. He divorced his 525 00:31:07,325 --> 00:31:10,525 Speaker 1: first wife back in two thousand. He has since remarried 526 00:31:10,525 --> 00:31:13,125 Speaker 1: to a woman named Valeria. She has one of her 527 00:31:13,205 --> 00:31:16,445 Speaker 1: jobs listed as being involved with his crypto company on Fox. 528 00:31:17,245 --> 00:31:19,965 Speaker 1: It's not clear what happened to any funds that were 529 00:31:20,005 --> 00:31:23,245 Speaker 1: run through this business. Whatever is going on, there only 530 00:31:23,325 --> 00:31:26,805 Speaker 1: one person, Richard would seem to have any of the answers. 531 00:31:27,445 --> 00:31:29,925 Speaker 1: He also revealed he had been set up to be 532 00:31:29,925 --> 00:31:33,765 Speaker 1: his brother's executor, and later, in an interview with this 533 00:31:33,845 --> 00:31:37,005 Speaker 1: reporter Elizabeth Van Meter, who has done a lot of 534 00:31:37,045 --> 00:31:41,645 Speaker 1: investigating in this case, Richard dropped a bombshell. He said 535 00:31:41,805 --> 00:31:49,565 Speaker 1: police had showed up at his house with a search warrant. 536 00:31:52,685 --> 00:31:56,205 Speaker 1: In summer of twenty twenty three, police served a warrant 537 00:31:56,245 --> 00:32:01,365 Speaker 1: on Richard Forsyth. He told Elizabeth Van Meter that police 538 00:32:01,365 --> 00:32:04,125 Speaker 1: had told him they believed he knew more than he 539 00:32:04,125 --> 00:32:08,845 Speaker 1: said he did. Richard completely denied in this interview that 540 00:32:08,925 --> 00:32:10,805 Speaker 1: he had anything to do with his brother's death or 541 00:32:10,925 --> 00:32:14,805 Speaker 1: disappearance in any way. He said he doesn't know why 542 00:32:14,885 --> 00:32:17,565 Speaker 1: police seem to be focusing in on him. He said 543 00:32:17,605 --> 00:32:19,685 Speaker 1: that he thinks maybe it's because they don't have any 544 00:32:19,725 --> 00:32:23,005 Speaker 1: other leads. He said he has confidence in law enforcement 545 00:32:23,085 --> 00:32:25,205 Speaker 1: and he's trying to let them go through their process 546 00:32:25,205 --> 00:32:28,725 Speaker 1: of elimination. He actually said John was killed from a 547 00:32:28,765 --> 00:32:32,325 Speaker 1: forty millimeter bullet that was fired from a glock, and 548 00:32:32,525 --> 00:32:35,005 Speaker 1: he said I own a glock that fires a forty 549 00:32:35,045 --> 00:32:40,325 Speaker 1: millimeter gun. However, Richard claimed he was completely forthcoming with police. 550 00:32:40,645 --> 00:32:42,845 Speaker 1: He said he told them about his gun early on 551 00:32:42,885 --> 00:32:45,365 Speaker 1: in the investigation. He said he offered to let him 552 00:32:45,365 --> 00:32:48,285 Speaker 1: search his property and that he had been completely cooperative. 553 00:32:49,165 --> 00:32:52,645 Speaker 1: Richard told Elizabeth Van Meter quote, I was eager to 554 00:32:52,765 --> 00:32:55,685 Speaker 1: let them cross that off their list end quote. He 555 00:32:55,765 --> 00:32:58,445 Speaker 1: also told her he took a lot of detector test 556 00:32:58,885 --> 00:33:02,325 Speaker 1: and he said police told him he did not pass 557 00:33:02,405 --> 00:33:06,445 Speaker 1: that lie detector test. He said the police told him 558 00:33:06,485 --> 00:33:10,205 Speaker 1: they believed that he had studied how to deceive the 559 00:33:10,285 --> 00:33:13,845 Speaker 1: lie test and that he'd somehow cheated. Yet, Richard said 560 00:33:13,885 --> 00:33:17,405 Speaker 1: that he still had confidence in law enforcement and he's 561 00:33:17,445 --> 00:33:21,245 Speaker 1: talked about his theories. He told the news station KOLR quote, 562 00:33:21,485 --> 00:33:23,725 Speaker 1: at this point, it looks like he was abducted and 563 00:33:23,805 --> 00:33:26,405 Speaker 1: killed and thrown into a lake. Just looking at it 564 00:33:26,405 --> 00:33:28,685 Speaker 1: from my point of view, that's what it seems like. 565 00:33:29,045 --> 00:33:29,525 Speaker 2: End quote. 566 00:33:30,405 --> 00:33:33,445 Speaker 1: It's not clear what the rest of John's family thinks. 567 00:33:34,165 --> 00:33:36,325 Speaker 1: Most of them have been pretty silent for the last 568 00:33:36,365 --> 00:33:40,965 Speaker 1: few months. Richard said in that interview with Ozark's Unsolved 569 00:33:41,445 --> 00:33:44,245 Speaker 1: that he's not really in contact with his brother's children 570 00:33:44,325 --> 00:33:46,445 Speaker 1: without part of the family. He said, there are no 571 00:33:46,565 --> 00:33:50,005 Speaker 1: issues there. The truth is, we don't know what's going 572 00:33:50,045 --> 00:33:52,645 Speaker 1: on in the background, either with the family or with 573 00:33:52,685 --> 00:33:56,125 Speaker 1: the police investigation. I did check court records, and I 574 00:33:56,125 --> 00:33:59,005 Speaker 1: saw there was an update in John's divorce case filings, 575 00:33:59,045 --> 00:34:02,325 Speaker 1: the ones that were closed shortly before he disappeared. In 576 00:34:02,365 --> 00:34:06,365 Speaker 1: September of twenty twenty three, John's ex wife's attorney filed 577 00:34:06,365 --> 00:34:12,525 Speaker 1: emotion claiming that there were some potential assets that they 578 00:34:12,605 --> 00:34:15,685 Speaker 1: believed had not been disclosed in the divorce, including an 579 00:34:15,685 --> 00:34:21,365 Speaker 1: insurance policy and some of John's business interests. So, according 580 00:34:21,405 --> 00:34:24,685 Speaker 1: to court documents, the attorney was claiming that John held 581 00:34:24,725 --> 00:34:27,445 Speaker 1: interest in companies, including some of the ones we've mentioned before, 582 00:34:27,925 --> 00:34:34,645 Speaker 1: amb Cash LLC, Ambycard LLC, something called Asset Management Group LLC, Allaton, 583 00:34:34,885 --> 00:34:39,565 Speaker 1: and ONFO. So apparently the ex wife had been told 584 00:34:39,645 --> 00:34:42,165 Speaker 1: that none of these companies had any assets in them, 585 00:34:42,405 --> 00:34:45,365 Speaker 1: that they had no value, but she said she had 586 00:34:45,445 --> 00:34:48,205 Speaker 1: learned that at least some of these entities did hold assets, 587 00:34:48,805 --> 00:34:51,045 Speaker 1: So the judge ruled that they could have some time 588 00:34:51,165 --> 00:34:55,485 Speaker 1: to present additional evidence. Then, in February twenty twenty four, 589 00:34:56,085 --> 00:34:58,725 Speaker 1: the judge ruled the original judgment of divorce should be 590 00:34:58,725 --> 00:35:02,525 Speaker 1: reinstated in full, so there was no change based on 591 00:35:02,605 --> 00:35:06,005 Speaker 1: any of those alleged assets. The only change was that 592 00:35:06,085 --> 00:35:09,645 Speaker 1: John's ex wife was awarded a twenty thirteen jeep Wrangler. 593 00:35:10,285 --> 00:35:13,445 Speaker 1: Elizabeth Van Meterer, the reporter who's covered the case extensively, 594 00:35:13,725 --> 00:35:17,125 Speaker 1: has apparently left her job for another news channel. One 595 00:35:17,165 --> 00:35:20,205 Speaker 1: of the last things she reported was that the authorities 596 00:35:20,245 --> 00:35:23,205 Speaker 1: in Benton County are not releasing the results of John's 597 00:35:23,245 --> 00:35:28,405 Speaker 1: autopsy or toxicology until the investigation is complete. She posted 598 00:35:28,445 --> 00:35:31,565 Speaker 1: on Facebook quote, I have learned that John was filling 599 00:35:31,565 --> 00:35:35,725 Speaker 1: out paperwork to transfer to Mercy Springfield Er. I don't 600 00:35:35,725 --> 00:35:38,645 Speaker 1: know the reason, but the location would certainly be closer 601 00:35:38,685 --> 00:35:42,765 Speaker 1: to his fiancee end quote. So it does seem like 602 00:35:42,965 --> 00:35:48,725 Speaker 1: John was potentially going through some life changes. As someone 603 00:35:48,805 --> 00:35:52,285 Speaker 1: who has investigated fraud and red collar crimes in the past, 604 00:35:52,325 --> 00:35:55,845 Speaker 1: I would actually love to know what the financial situation 605 00:35:56,005 --> 00:35:59,005 Speaker 1: and pressures were on other people close to John who 606 00:35:59,045 --> 00:36:03,085 Speaker 1: could have gained from his death. Could John have been 607 00:36:03,085 --> 00:36:06,365 Speaker 1: trying to hide money in some way? Someone have helped 608 00:36:06,405 --> 00:36:09,205 Speaker 1: him hide money and then perhaps not want to give 609 00:36:09,245 --> 00:36:14,885 Speaker 1: it back. I believe that following that money and figuring 610 00:36:14,925 --> 00:36:18,805 Speaker 1: out these circumstances could be the key to cracking this 611 00:36:18,885 --> 00:36:22,725 Speaker 1: case wide open. In my opinion, if police really want 612 00:36:22,725 --> 00:36:25,765 Speaker 1: to know what happened to John Forsyth, They're gonna need 613 00:36:25,805 --> 00:36:30,085 Speaker 1: to follow the money. I'm Catherine Townsend. This is Helen 614 00:36:30,125 --> 00:36:36,965 Speaker 1: Gone Murder Line. Helen Gone Murder Line is a production 615 00:36:37,045 --> 00:36:40,085 Speaker 1: of School of Humans and iHeart Podcasts. It's written and 616 00:36:40,165 --> 00:36:43,445 Speaker 1: narrated by me Catherine Townsend and produced by Gabby Watts. 617 00:36:44,325 --> 00:36:48,165 Speaker 1: Music contributed by Ben Sale. This episode was scored and 618 00:36:48,205 --> 00:36:53,365 Speaker 1: mixed by Jesse Niswanger. Executive producers are Virginia Prescott, Brandon Barr, 619 00:36:53,365 --> 00:36:56,365 Speaker 1: and Elsie Crowley. If you have a case you'd like 620 00:36:56,445 --> 00:36:58,485 Speaker 1: me and my team to look into. You can reach 621 00:36:58,525 --> 00:37:00,645 Speaker 1: out to us at our Helen Gone Murder Line at 622 00:37:00,685 --> 00:37:03,805 Speaker 1: six seven eight seven four four six ' one four five. 623 00:37:04,325 --> 00:37:08,045 Speaker 1: That's six seven eight seven four four six one four five. 624 00:37:16,485 --> 00:37:17,445 Speaker 1: School of Humans