It’s one of those weeks and weekends where I had inspiration for a column this week, but news has happened and the story I was going to write about didn’t make it in this week.
It’s Tuesday afternoon — one hour from deadline — and I’ve been running ragged all weekend and playing catch-up the past 48 hours, this week’s piece is what I’m going to call a deadline dump.
Since Friday, it’s been pretty much non-stop for me. I completed two sizable interviews that morning, one with Harvick Farms owner Lainey Harvick and another with retired Cybercrimes Task Force Investigator Brian Martin.
Alas, I did not have time to actually write those stories before I had to get home and ready to shove off to pick up my sister and brother-in-law at the Fayetteville airport and us all travel to Little Rock for my second- youngest sister’s high school graduation.
Did I mention Friday was my 35th birthday? As busy as I was, even I almost forgot!
We split the cost of a little bungalow in a nice area of Little Rock, only a few blocks away from a house my friends and I were renting not long before I got my first newspaper job.
We celebrated not only my birthday, but my daughter’s 8th the following day with balloons and a banner and a few presents.
I then attended my fifth graduation since May 14, though this one was a little less taxing. The ceremony was held at the Jack A. Stephens Center on the campus of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock — the same arena I walked across a stage in 2011 to receive my journalism degree.
While I was not shooting my sister’s graduation for the paper, I was exceptionally proud to be able to use the skills I have gained over the last dozen years to get some memorable shots of her.
I get to do it again next year, as my youngest sister will graduate on my 36th birthday.
Sunday brought more good news, as my other sister (I have four total), videoed in from her newly purchased house in El Paso, Texas, where she will be living while she attends medical school, to which she was accepted in March.
Through all of these family happenings four hours away, I still had an ear on the ground at home.
There were social media reports of a teenage girl missing from the Cassville City Park, though her disappearance did not meet Amber Alert criteria. Thankfully, she was found safe.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said at this hour for a local physician, John Forsyth, an emergency room doctor at Mercy Cassville whose vehicle was found abandoned Sunday in the yard waste area of Cassville South Park.
Playing catch-up with the newspaper is difficult enough on its own, so an active search and rescue investigation as deadline approaches will get the blood pumping.
At more than 36 hours missing, the case of Dr. Forsyth is an odd one. He left a shift at the hospital at 7 a.m. Sunday and did not return for his overnight shift. His keys were in his vehicle, unlocked, and no electronics were located.
Police have since used a myriad of resources to try and find Forsyth, including search and rescue dogs, drones with thermal imaging and old fashioned grid search with first responders as volunteers.
Yet, nothing has been found. Situations like this always breed anxiety, mostly about community safety. In this instance, there are no signs of foul play, so there is no reason to worry.
Additionally, situations like this also breed rumors. Everyone wants answers immediately, but investigations take time.
To help, people should stay vigilant, keep an eye out and call in anything that might be related to the case, even doing so anonymously if need be.
What’s not helpful is spreading a falsehood, which this time was that a body was found by the YMCA. There was no such finding, and time spent by police debunking the rumor mill takes away from time that should be used to investigate.
This happens time and time again and spanning all manner of investigations, and it should stop.
I know people may get frustrated with what is perceived as a lack of information or that there are no updates. I do my best to stay in contact with authorities and update as quickly as possible. Truthfully, it’s not always as soon as I’d like either.
Mark that as one of the thousands of things I have learned since walking across the Jack A. Stephens stage 12 years ago.
In time and with patience, answers will surely come.
Kyle Troutman has served as the editor of the Cassville Democrat since 2014. In 2017, he was named William E. James/Missouri Outstanding Young Journalist for daily newspapers, and in 2022, he won a Golden Dozen Award from ISWINE. He may be reached at 417-847-2610 or ktroutman@cassville-democrat.com.
