John S Osen
08-22-2005, 09:20 PM
Olivia Newton-John's "dear friend" has gone missing.
It's been more than seven weeks since family or friends have seen Patrick Kim McDermott, the singer/actress' boyfriend of nearly a decade. The 48-year-old's disappearance has prompted probes by the
U.S. Coast Guard and Los Angeles police.
On Monday, Newton-John broke her silence on the mystery, saying she was "hopeful that eventually we will find some answers."
"For those who know and love him," Newton-John said of McDermott in a statement, "it has been a truly heart-breaking experience."
Foul play hasn't been ruled out as one explanation for McDermott's disappearance. Neither has the possibility that he took off on his own. Right now, the matter is classified as a missing-persons case.
According to authorities, McDermott left on an overnight fishing trip June 30 from Southern California's San Pedro Harbor. He was to have returned July 1, but five days later, on July 6, he was a no-show at what was described as a "family event." About a week after that, McDermott's car was located in a parking lot near the harbor; his backpack on the fishing boat.
But there was no sign of McDermott. A missing-persons report was filed July 11.
"It's a really strange one," Coast Guard investigator Dennis Nebrich told the Australian Associated Press. "Each time you think you know what's going on, it doesn't go that way."
The Coast Guard and L.A. Police Department both issued press releases in early August asking for the public's help in finding the Van Nuys, California, resident. But neither release mentioned Newton-John, and the matter received little note until U.K.'s News of the World reported last weekend that the missing McDermott was Newton-John's McDermott.
Newton-John, 56, met McDermott in 1996 at a shoot for a Panasonic commercial, the Australian Courier Mail reported in 2001. He was a cameraman; she was about a year past the breakup of her longtime marriage to actor Matt Lattanzi.
"He's a great guy, and I'm happy," Newton-John told the Courier Mail three years ago, reticent to dish further about her connection to McDermott, who has a 15-year-old son from a previous relationship.
In her statement Monday, the sunny pop icon of Grease fame called McDermott, simply, a "dear friend, who I love very much."
Career-wise, the summer has been kinder to Newton-John. A two-disc DVD collection of her music-video hits was released last week. On Sept. 1, a new album, Stronger Than Before, is due to debut in Hallmark Gold Crown stores. A portion of album sales will benefit research for breast cancer, which Newton-John overcame following her 1992 diagnosis. The fall was to bring a concert tour, launching in October.
It's been more than seven weeks since family or friends have seen Patrick Kim McDermott, the singer/actress' boyfriend of nearly a decade. The 48-year-old's disappearance has prompted probes by the U.S. Coast Guard and Los Angeles police.
It's been more than seven weeks since family or friends have seen Patrick Kim McDermott, the singer/actress' boyfriend of nearly a decade. The 48-year-old's disappearance has prompted probes by the
U.S. Coast Guard and Los Angeles police.
On Monday, Newton-John broke her silence on the mystery, saying she was "hopeful that eventually we will find some answers."
"For those who know and love him," Newton-John said of McDermott in a statement, "it has been a truly heart-breaking experience."
Foul play hasn't been ruled out as one explanation for McDermott's disappearance. Neither has the possibility that he took off on his own. Right now, the matter is classified as a missing-persons case.
According to authorities, McDermott left on an overnight fishing trip June 30 from Southern California's San Pedro Harbor. He was to have returned July 1, but five days later, on July 6, he was a no-show at what was described as a "family event." About a week after that, McDermott's car was located in a parking lot near the harbor; his backpack on the fishing boat.
But there was no sign of McDermott. A missing-persons report was filed July 11.
"It's a really strange one," Coast Guard investigator Dennis Nebrich told the Australian Associated Press. "Each time you think you know what's going on, it doesn't go that way."
The Coast Guard and L.A. Police Department both issued press releases in early August asking for the public's help in finding the Van Nuys, California, resident. But neither release mentioned Newton-John, and the matter received little note until U.K.'s News of the World reported last weekend that the missing McDermott was Newton-John's McDermott.
Newton-John, 56, met McDermott in 1996 at a shoot for a Panasonic commercial, the Australian Courier Mail reported in 2001. He was a cameraman; she was about a year past the breakup of her longtime marriage to actor Matt Lattanzi.
"He's a great guy, and I'm happy," Newton-John told the Courier Mail three years ago, reticent to dish further about her connection to McDermott, who has a 15-year-old son from a previous relationship.
In her statement Monday, the sunny pop icon of Grease fame called McDermott, simply, a "dear friend, who I love very much."
Career-wise, the summer has been kinder to Newton-John. A two-disc DVD collection of her music-video hits was released last week. On Sept. 1, a new album, Stronger Than Before, is due to debut in Hallmark Gold Crown stores. A portion of album sales will benefit research for breast cancer, which Newton-John overcame following her 1992 diagnosis. The fall was to bring a concert tour, launching in October.
It's been more than seven weeks since family or friends have seen Patrick Kim McDermott, the singer/actress' boyfriend of nearly a decade. The 48-year-old's disappearance has prompted probes by the U.S. Coast Guard and Los Angeles police.