Coast Guard investigating disappearance of Olivia Newton-John's boyfriend

Coast Guard investigating disappearance of Olivia Newton-John's boyfriend

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Coast Guard says it is investigating the disappearance of Olivia Newton-John's longtime boyfriend, who failed to return from an overnight fishing trip off the California coast seven weeks ago.

Patrick Kim McDermott, 48, left San Pedro, 20 miles south of Los Angeles, June 30 on an overnight fishing trip. The Los Angeles Police Department said McDermott has been listed as missing.

Coast Guard officer Nathan Henise told The Associated Press Monday that McDermott was last seen on the fishing vessel and that his personal items were found on the boat.

"We're treating it as a missing person case," Henise told the AP. "Everyone is being interviewed, everyone on the boat."

Newton-John on Monday urged anyone with information on McDermott's disappearance to contact authorities.

"I'm hopeful that my treasured friend is safe and well, and I'm grateful to the officials who are working so hard to find Patrick, whom I love very much," she said in a statement. "I ask anybody with information that could help to please, please come forward."

Gavin de Becker, a spokesman for Newton-John, said the singer was in "close and frequent contact" with McDermott's family and friends, as well as investigators.

Authorities said McDermott's family became concerned when he didn't attend a July 6 event. They contacted the Coast Guard after his car was found in the marina's parking lot on July 11.

McDermott, a cameraman, and Newton-John, 56, have been together for nine years.

Newton-John, who starred in the 1978 film "Grease" opposite John Travolta, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992. After she beat the disease, she recorded the album "Gaia," documenting her experience.

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Newton-John hires detective to find missing boyfriend

August 23, 2005

BY BILL ZWECKER Sun-Times Columnist

More than a month after Olivia Newton-John's longtime boyfriend vanished during a deep-sea fishing trip off the coast of California, the news of Patrick Kim McDermott's disappearance -- and his connection to the veteran Australian singer and actress -- finally has hit the headlines.

On Monday, the distraught entertainer, unhappy with the official investigation, announced she had hired famous investigator Gavin DeBecker (who saved her from a stalker in 1983) to help search for McDermott, a cameraman involved with her since 1996.

McDermott, 48, was last seen July 1 on a chartered fishing boat two miles off the coast of California as the boat returned to port. He left his wallet and driver's license on board. Fishermen on the trip claimed McDermott was depressed, complaining about his ex-wife and the alimony and child support he was forced to pay her.

Newton-John, 56, immediately returned to the United States from Australia after learning of McDermott's disappearance.

There is like one different snippet of info in every news story about this. It is very weird. Here's another one:

Newton-John's boyfriend 'seen'

A distraught Olivia Newton-John has issued a heartfelt plea for help to find her "treasured" boyfriend Patrick McDermott.

The Australian singing and acting star said she loved McDermott "very much".

Newton-John urged anyone with information about McDermott, who was last seen on a fishing boat off the coast of California on July 1, to contact US authorities.

The mystery over McDermott's disappearance has deepened.

Witnesses say he returned from the overnight fishing trip from San Pedro harbour, south of Los Angeles.

The fact that McDermott's personal belongings were found on the boat, and his car was abandoned nearby and not discovered until July 11, had heightened suspicions he may have gone overboard.

But Frank Liversedge, who manages the 22nd Street Landing Pier at San Pedro, said witnesses saw McDermott walk off the seven-metre fishing vessel, Freedom, when it returned from the fishing expedition.

"He walked off the boat," Liversedge told AAP. "We know that. People saw that.

"We don't know what happened once he got back on to land. Maybe he wanted to go missing?"

McDermott was one of 23 fishermen who boarded the Freedom on June 30 for an overnight expedition off the coast of Los Angeles.

Liversedge said other fishermen saw McDermott leave the vessel when it returned to the pier on July 1.

McDermott has not been spotted since.

The US Coast Guard and Los Angeles police investigating McDermott's disappearance are baffled.

They have deemed the Los Angeles cameraman, who has been in a nine-year relationship with Newton-John, a missing person.

They say all scenarios are possible.

They have not ruled out McDermott met with foul play while on the boat.

They also have not rejected the possibility McDermott committed suicide at sea or that he walked off the boat at the end of the journey and disappeared.

"At this point it's a blank canvas," said US Coast Guard Petty Officer Prentice Danner.

Liversedge is adamant McDermott did not go missing at sea.

"If he had jumped overboard or fell somebody would have seen it," Liversedge said. "It doesn't happen that way."

Liversedge also confirmed McDermott's personal belongings were found on the boat after the expedition was over.

Among items left behind were McDermott's passport, driver's licence and credit cards, but no cash.

Newton-John has been in close contact with McDermott's family, friends and authorities in attempting to track down clues about his whereabouts.

Los Angeles-based Gavin de Becker, a friend of Newton-John and one of America's best known security experts and private investigators, is lending a hand in the investigation.

Newton-John has used De Becker's expertise for her own personal needs in the past, including to protect her from stalker Michael Perry in Los Angeles in 1983.

The Grammy Award-winning singer and star of Grease asked for support and prayers and said she chose not to go public with McDermott's disappearance earlier out of respect for his family.

"I'm hopeful that my treasured friend is safe and well, and I'm grateful to the officials who are working so hard to find Patrick, whom I love very much," she said in a statement.

"I ask anybody with information that could help to please come forward.

"For those of us who know and love him, it has been a truly heartbreaking experience," she said.

"I have offered my full co-operation to the authorities who are continuing to investigate the circumstances of his disappearance and we are hopeful that eventually we will find some answers.

"I am grateful for all of those who have expressed their concern. I would simply ask for your continued support and prayers for his safety and wellbeing and for that of his family."

McDermott had been married previously and has a 15-year-old son from that relationship.

AAP, Reuters

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