Unsolved Disappearance of Patrick McDermott, Olivia Newton-John's Boyfriend

Olivia Newton-John at the premiere of A Few Best Men (2012). Photograph by Liam Mendes / Wikimedia Commons / licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/).

On June 30, 2005, Patrick McDermott - longtime boyfriend of actress and singer Olivia Newton-John - boarded the Freedom fishing boat off the coast of San Pedro, California, for an overnight trip and was never seen again. His wallet and personal belongings were found on the vessel, but none of the 22 passengers or crew reported seeing him fall overboard. Three years later, the U.S. Coast Guard declared him legally dead, citing accidental drowning as the most likely cause. The mystery has never been conclusively resolved.

The Disappearance and Official Finding

McDermott and Newton-John had been together for nearly a decade at the time of his disappearance. By morning, he was gone. Investigators later found that McDermott owed thousands in unpaid child support and was struggling financially. Evidence emerged suggesting he had withdrawn money from his bank account and possibly acquired a passport under his birth name, Patrick Kim, prior to the trip. In 2009, a Dateline NBC investigation raised the possibility that McDermott had staged his disappearance to escape his financial obligations, including an alleged $8,000 owed to his ex-wife.

Newton-John publicly addressed the mystery on multiple occasions. She told 60 Minutes: “It’s human to wonder but, you know, those are the things in life you have to accept and let go.”

Alleged Sightings in Mexico

In 2017, Australian magazine New Idea published photographs purportedly showing McDermott alive and living in Sayulita, Mexico, with an unidentified woman. Private investigator Charlie Parker analyzed the images and concluded: “The widow’s peak is exact. The eyes are very similar, and the ears extend down on the head the same distance. I believe it is him.” Local sources in Sayulita reportedly described a man matching McDermott’s description living in the area under the name Patrick Kim.

No definitive proof of McDermott’s survival was ever established. Newton-John moved on with her life, marrying John Easterling in 2008. She passed away in August 2022 without the mystery being publicly resolved.

References: Did Olivia Newton-John’s Ex Fake His Own Death? | Olivia Newton-John: Mystery of former boyfriend who ‘was found in Mexico’ after going missing for 12 years