Is this Olivia Newton-John’s missing love?
9 years after he’s declared dead – photo shows him ‘living in Mexico’
THE missing ex-boyfriend of Olivia Newton- John is not dead but is living in Mexico under a new identity, investigators claim.
They say a grainy photograph proves Patrick McDermott, who vanished during a fishing trip 12 years ago, is alive.
He was declared dead in 2008 but some believe McDermott, a US cameraman who dated the Grease star for nine years, faked his own death to escape spiralling debts. The newly- discovered photograph, published by Australian magazine New Idea, claims to show McDermott sporting a tan and relaxing on the beach in the hippy town of Sayulita, on Mexico’s Pacific coast.
McDermott was 48 when he went missing from the fishing boat Freedom, 30 minutes before it was due back in Los Angeles from an overnight trip in June 2005. It was believed he had gone overboard, although none of the other 22 passengers saw him fall.
He had paid his bills and left his belongings in a neat pile on his bed. He was not reported missing until a week later, when a family member contacted authorities after he failed to show up for a party. Although no body was found, the US Coast Guard declared three years later that he had ‘most likely drowned’.
Investigators discovered the father of one owed thousands in child support fees to his ex-wife, plus £23,000 to creditors.
Miss Newton-John took years to deal with the grief and uncertainty about what had happened, close friends say, amid growing speculation about McDermott’s fate.
The pair had broken up months before his disappearance and she had been in the middle of a promotional tour in Australia at the time. Last year, the 69-year- old singer and actress said she refused to believe her boyfriend had faked his own death.
She said: ‘It was very hard, he was lost at sea and nobody really knows what happened. It’s human to wonder. Those are the things in life you have to accept and let go because whenever you go through difficult times there are always those concerns. I live on.’
She has since found love with businessman John Easterling, 65, whom she married in 2008, and has yet to comment on the latest claims about McDermott.
Over the years there have been dozens of alleged sightings, as well as reports he bought a second passport. In 2009, detectives claimed to have received a letter from representatives of McDermott, saying he was alive but wished to be left alone.
American private detectives claim to have tracked him down to Sayulita, a resort near Puerto Vallarta popular with expats and surfers. They told New Idea magazine that the new picture is ‘a 90 per cent match’ to old photos of McDermott, with the two subjects having identical hairlines.
Investigator Charlie Parker said: ‘The widow’s peak is exact. The eyes are very similar and the ears extend down on the head in the same distance. I believe it’s him’.
The undated image was discovered on a noticeboard at a rundown beach campsite last month. Locals believe it is where McDermott stayed when he fled the US.
A source told the magazine McDermott – who is thought to be using his birth name Pat Kim – may be working for a powerful Mexican family who are protecting his identity.
American property agent Rod Rosile, who has lived in the town for 20 years, said the campsite often attracts those wanting to keep a low profile.
‘Almost everyone like that starts there because it’s so cheap – back then it would have been less than £2.50 per day,’ he said. ‘People like him would then usually take up with a local woman, or put word out they’re available to house-sit, so they have a place to stay.’