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Associated PressThe body of a doctor was found in Yellowstone National Park five months after he faked his death in the Florida Panhandle.
PENSACOLA - Suicide notes left by a doctor who killed himself at Yellowstone National Park include comments about his disappearance from Pensacola, said an investigator, who declined to disclose details that might help explain the death.
The body of Dr. Jim Jeffery, 40, was found in the park on Oct. 16, five months after he faked his death in the Florida Panhandle and vanished.
Yellowstone Special Agent Brian Smith on Thursday said Jeffery's notes were to his family and private, but he confirmed that the physician had written about his disappearance.
"It's a tragedy," Smith said. "He was a talented guy who had lots of people who cared for him."
Smith said Jeffery died from loss of blood caused by a self-inflicted knife wound. Toxicology reports showed a blood alcohol level of 0.14 percent. That exceeds the 0.08 percent level at which most states consider a person too impaired to drive safely.
Jeffery had recently divorced and moved to the Florida Panhandle from Monroe, La., where he was an emergency room doctor.
In May, his unoccupied boat was found banging against bridge pilings at nearby Perdido Key with its motor still running.
He was to have appeared in court that day for a property settlement hearing with his ex-wife.
Investigators discovered Jeffery had bought a red 2000 Chevrolet Blazer and closed a bank account two days before he disappeared.
Police in Bozeman, Mont., on Sept. 25 stopped Jeffery for running a red light, but he failed to show for a court appearance a week before his body was found.
Investigators later discovered he had been staying in Bozeman with a man he had befriended, Smith said.