THE LETTER THAT PROVES HE’S ALIVE
Fresh details emerge in Patrick Mcdermott’s mysterious disappearance
Anew podcast has reignited rumours that the late Olivia Newton-john’s former boyfriend Patrick Mcdermott, who went missing 17 years ago, may still be alive.
A new witness has come forward claiming the cameraman – who was last seen in June 2005 after going on an overnight fishing trip off the coast of LA – left behind roses and a note for the Aussie singer, suggesting it’s evidence the then 48-year-old was planning to disappear.
A FINAL FAREWELL
“The note told her that he’d always loved her and always will. They’d been having a lot of problems. Patrick was backing out of the relationship. I think the evidence shows that Patrick didn’t like Hollywood,” private investigator Philip Klein told the true crime podcast Casefile Presents: Pseudocide.
“Hollywood’s a place of money, but it’s also a place of very poor people who are trying to make it. He just never could make it.”
According to numerous reports, finances are another important piece of the puzzle. The single father-of-one, who also left behind 12-year-old son Chance – who is now 30 – filed for bankruptcy, owing more than $45,000 five years before his disappearance.
“Here’s a guy who’s poor, who’s hurting, owes back child support and I believe that the pressures of that and the pressures of, ‘Oh my God, I’m going to have to go to jail and my son’s going to have to see me in jail...’ I think it was just too much for him,” says Philip.
“I think it played a big role,” says film director Charles Mitri, who worked with Patrick, of his financial difficulties. “He probably didn’t want to ask her [Olivia] for help in that area.”
NEVER ONBOARD?
Another theory, shared by the podcast is that Patrick bought a ticket but never actually boarded the Freedom fishing boat. While the boating company refuse to publicly comment on the matter, not keen for the negative publicity, the podcast reports they spoke to numerous witnesses who confirmed this is the consensus among the boating community.
But Patrick’s belongings were found on the boat and he was seen onboard by other witnesses, casting doubt. One of those witnesses is Casey Clark, who was with Patrick on that final fishing trip.
“He was there,” says Casey. “He was very lit up that day.”
The California father is convinced Patrick managed to escape and is living on a beach in Mexico. Casey believes the missing man – who he says he spoke to on several occasions on previous fishing expeditions – managed to pull it off by disguising his identity.
“He looks like he’s all done up,” Casey says of pics of Patrick that have appeared in the press. “On the trip, he looked more like a shaggy dog,” Casey claims, tellingly revealing that Patrick told a joke about insurance fraud that day. And recurring sightings of Patrick in Mexico over the years add weight to this theory.
But Patrick’s longtime friend and colleague Jace Smith
‘I think it was just too much for him’
surmises Patrick met with a different fate – foul play.
WAS IT MURDER?
“Patrick would stand up for anybody and he would stand up to the point where he would get in your face,” he says. “If something was wrong he would stand up to it... I believe he might have had a fight with somebody on the boat.”
Official inquiries concluded he was likely lost at sea. According to authorities, Patrick drowned and was declared dead in 2011, but no body has ever been found. “I don’t think I will ever really be at peace with it,” Olivia – who tragically passed away in August – admitted in 2009 of Patrick’s disappearance. “There will always be a question mark.”
Listen to the six-part podcast series on Spotify.