According to a recent biography, Olivia Newton-John suspected that her ex-boyfriend, who disappeared off the Los Angeles coast over two decades ago, either met with foul play or drowned.
Patrick McDermott, a cameraman, was 48 when he vanished during an overnight fishing trip in June 2005 near San Pedro. Authorities have speculated that he may have been lost at sea.
Close associates of the late Grease star have revealed that she was skeptical of the sensational theories that circulated following McDermott’s mysterious disappearance.
Newton-John’s friend and fellow musician, Liona Boyd, shared with biographer Matthew Hild that Newton-John believed McDermott had either been killed or accidentally drowned, as detailed in Hild’s book, A Little More Love: The Life and Legacy of Olivia Newton-John.
Boyd further explained that the singer dismissed the notion that McDermott staged his own disappearance: “She didn’t buy into the rumors about him being spotted in Mexico. She would say, ‘No, I don’t believe that.'”
Newton-John and McDermott began dating following her 1995 divorce from actor Matt Lattanzi.Â
Olivia Newton-John believed her ex-boyfriend, Patrick McDermott, was either killed or drowned after he vanished off the coast of Los Angeles in 2005, a book claims. Above, in 2001
In her 2018 memoir, she described their relationship as ‘on-again, off-again’ and confirmed they were not together at the time he vanished.
What followed was years of speculation about what really happened to the 48-year-old, ranging from theories that he staged his own disappearance to suggestions of foul play or abduction.
‘Whether he had financial difficulties and staged his disappearance, whether it was a murder or an abduction, no one seems to know,’ Australian journalist Louise Pennell told NBC News in 2005.
‘What we do know is there were some problems with finances. Patrick McDermott, on the fishing boat, told the crew he had some alimony troubles with his ex-wife,’ she added. ‘As far as I know, he complained about financial troubles.’
McDermott had divorced actress Yvette Nipar in 1993, with whom he had a son, Chance.
The boat from which he disappeared, the Freedom, became central to the mystery.
Sleuths later claimed they had possible sightings in Mexico, including private investigator John Nazarian, who said in 2016: ‘I spoke to people there. The girl he was travelling with was described as having a German accent.’
The late singer’s thoughts are detailed in the new book A Little More Love: The Life and Legacy of Olivia Newton-John by Matthew Hild, which explores the disappearance of McDermott
He was 48 years old when he vanished in June 2005 after he took an overnight fishing trip near San Pedro, Los Angeles
However, those leads never resulted in confirmation.
According to Hild’s book, Newton-John later engaged security expert Gavin de Becker, who dispatched private investigators to Mexico in an attempt to locate McDermott – but the search was fruitless.
The US Coast Guard ultimately concluded McDermott was likely ‘lost at sea’, closing its investigation in 2008.
Newton-John spoke publicly about the uncertainty a year later.
‘I think there will always be a question mark… I don’t think I will ever really be at peace with it,’ she told Women’s Weekly in 2009.
In a 2016 interview with 60 Minutes, she reflected again on the unresolved loss.
‘He was lost at sea… nobody really knows what happened,’ she said.
‘It’s human to wonder. But you know, 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,’ she said.
Despite the lingering mystery, Newton-John eventually moved on, marrying businessman John Easterling in 2008.
The pair remained together until her death in August 2022, aged 73, after she had been living with breast cancer.