Patrick McDermott: Sightings reported as early as 2006
Patrick McDermott, longtime boyfriend of Olivia Newton-John, made headlines when he disappeared in June 2005, but the mystery of his whereabouts has never been solved. Newton-John has since moved on, marrying businessperson John Easterling in 2008.
On Tuesday, Woman's Day Australia published a report that McDermott is alive and well and living with a German girlfriend in Sayulita, a remote village in Mexico. "Patrick's probably now working in the yachting industry for a high-profile family down there," private investigator Philip Klein told the magazine.
But this reported sighting is not the first. In fact, several publications had sources saying they had seen McDermott in Mexico. Moreover, McDermott was reported to be in some serious money trouble before he disappeared. Here's everything you need to know.
June 2005: According to the Coast Guard, McDermott was last seen on the fishing boat June 30, but no one saw him leave, and his wallet and other belongings were found onboard. The Coast Guard was investigating his disappearance as a missing person case, but was also looking into all possibilities -- including that McDermott might have staged his disappearance, said Petty Officer 3rd Class Nathan Henise at the time.
McDermott had money problems. According to a 1994 divorce filing, McDermott owed $800 a month in child support for his son, and in April 2005 was ordered by a court to make all outstanding payments. He had filed for bankruptcy in 2000 while owing about $31,000 to creditors.
October 2005: Newton-John appeared on "The Early Show" on CBS and said. "It's really, really painful for me. And it is really, really personal. We miss him. We love him. We're still kind of praying that there's a chance he'll come back."
June 2006: The Sydney Morning Herald reported that witnesses had seen McDermott on Mexico's remote Baja Peninsula.
April 2010: A group of private investigators hired by Dateline NBC claimed to have found McDermott in Mexico near Puerta Vallarta, where McDermott had been living under his birth name, reported the Daily News. The investigators claimed they had retrieved "documentation and voice imprints" from him and "concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. McDermott is alive."
