5th holistic doctor died in Florida

Dr. Baron Holt, 33, died unexpectedly this past Father’s Day; the very same day another physically fit chiropractor was found dead. Both men passed away on the East Coast of Florida. Both were fathers and chiropractors.  Dr. Holt leaves behind a 3-year-old daughter. 

It brings me no joy to break these stories on the doctors who have died, all in a matter of weeks, and the majority of whom were found dead in Florida. I read about Baron Holt DC, not long after he died, which was coincidentally the very same day that Bruce Hedendal DC, PhD was found, slumped over in his car. Our heart goes out to their loved ones and their children. 

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The deaths of these two fathers came just two days after the death of Dr.Bradstreet, who was found in a river in North Carolina with a gunshot wound to his chest. Previously, Dr. Bradstreet had lived and practiced here on the East Coast of Florida. I hesitated covering the young Dr. Holt’s story as I had little information and there were no recent articles I could reference, until now.

From this glowing article, out just 48 hours ago, which refers to Dr. Holt as a faithful healer:

“His unexpected death last month while on a trip to Jacksonville, Fla., has been a blow to his family, and the community he’d created through his work. Though he had been struggling with recent health issues, none were thought to be life threatening by loved ones. His family is awaiting the results from an autopsy report.”

A few verified chiropractors have written to me with a rather shocking cause of death but the one I actually spoke with heard it through a colleague so I will not elaborate as it’s not verified and therefore not appropriate to post. Instead, I’ll quote the well-known News Observer:

“Holt’s practice, Revolution Chiropractic, had just celebrated its fifth anniversary this year. Highly fit at 33, he was deeply connected to his Christian faith, and his career as a Triangle practitioner was booming. Holt took a holistic approach to treatment; he and his staff taught classes on nutrition, exercise, and even aromatherapy.”

“‘In 2012, he traveled to London to work with the U.S. Olympic team, and could count Ultimate Fighting Championship athletes among the 500 patients his practice saw each week,’ said Brigitte Spurgeon, friend and Revolution Chiropractic clinical director.”

When I read that he was “highly fit,” well accomplished, had traveled to London to work with the 2012 Olympic team, and that he was already emerging as a prominent natural chiropractor, I felt that it was my duty to report on his sad and untimely death. Again, our hearts go out to his family, friends, and loved ones and we hope they get to the bottom of this, whatever the cause may be.

Here’s a timeline:

June 19th, 2015 

Dr Bradstreet, formerly of Florida and now practicing in Georgia, was found with a gunshot wound to his chest in a river. The small town locals ruled the death almost immediately as a suicide, but many have their doubts. This same day in Mexico three doctors were traveling to the State Capital to deliver some papers and went missing (this is the only case outside of the US). Authorities said they found the bodies, but the families say those bodies look nothing like their family members and they are demanding more proof and more testing. A sad but riveting article was written about those details here.

June 21st, 2015 

Father’s Day: Two chiropractors, Dr. Holt and Dr. Hedendal (both reported to be fathers), both presumably healthy and described as fit, are found dead in Florida on the East Coast. We still have no cause of death listed in the articles we can find on either one. A few people have contacted me about Dr. Hedendal, 67, but admit that they were surprised by his death and still find it shocking. I’ve been given a few potential causes of death, but I remain uncertain; even the friends sharing with me weren’t totally confident their information was correct. Interestingly, Dr. Holt (33), lived in North Carolina which is the state where Dr. Bradstreet’s body (the first doctor to be found) was discovered two days prior. Dr. Holt was visiting Jacksonville, Florida, though, when he died there. Dr. Bradstreet (see story #1) was living in Georgia, at the time of his death and before that, he lived in the neighboring state of Florida.

June 29th, 2015 

The beloved holistic MD Theresa Sievers was found murdered in her home.  Her co-worker says she was known as the “Mother Teresa of South Florida.” Her husband and children were in Connecticut at a family reunion. The authorities have been investigating for two weeks “around the clock,” and now say that she was targeted. Her murder was not random, nor was it a home invasion; when the facts come out, “…books and movies will be written about it.”, it’s that big of a story.  On the same day, Jeffrey Whiteside, MD, a pulmonologist went missing, vanishing when he simply “walked away”. Dr. Whiteside, known for his successful treatment of lung cancer, disappeared in Door County, Wisconsin, while vacationing with family. They say he was on foot and simply vanished without a trace; numerous reports call it “mysterious,”. They’ve been searching now for two weeks, and even colleagues have joined in (along with bloodhounds, drones, search parties, and helicopters) but not one shred of evidence has surfaced in two weeks.

July 3rd, 2015

Dr. Patrick Fitzpatrick, MD goes missing. He was traveling from North Dakota, to neighboring Montana and his truck and trailer were found on the side of the road. The search has expanded but authorities say it’s like he vanished without a trace. He’s 6′ tall, with a goatee and an Irish accent. Details can be found in the link.

July 10th, 2015 

Lisa Riley, DO (Doctor of Osteopathic medicine) is found in her home with a gunshot wound to her head. Her husband called it in to 911, he has a prior record, and he was actually charged with attempted murder on his ex, Ms. King, before charges were eventually dropped. Evidence showed there was gun residue found on Ms. King’s hand, and not Mr Riley’s. Riley’s story corroborated this, but King’s allegedly didn’t, and her story kept changing. At least that’s what the evidence showed at the time (click link in this paragraph for their story with details).

We hope all 5 missing doctors are found to be alive and well. Our hearts go out to the families of the other 5 doctors who were found dead and we hope the authorities get to the bottom of each death, and that they find the killer (or killers) soon, if they were indeed murdered.

This is Erin Elizabeth, July 14, 2015- still concerned for my own better half of many years, who is a prominent, outspoken, holistic DO, himself.

Erin