During a fishing expedition off the coast of California in 2005, Olivia Newton-John’s former partner Patrick Dermott vanished. Despite an extensive search by the Coast Guard, he could not be located.
Some speculate that he drowned, while others suspect he may have staged his own demise. Newton-John has never publicly discussed her previous partner’s vanishing.
Rumors emerged earlier this year that Dermott might have faked his own death. These speculations gained traction when an individual claiming to be Dermott was sighted in Mexico. While this alleged sighting remains unverified, it has sparked conjecture about the potential reasons behind Dermott’s supposed disappearance.
One possibility is that he was attempting to evade media scrutiny. Given the intense public interest in Newton-John’s life, it is plausible that Dermott felt overwhelmed by the attention and opted to orchestrate his own vanishing as an escape from the spotlight.
Another possibility is that Dermott wished to avoid fulfilling his parental responsibilities. Although these rumors are yet to be confirmed, they have reignited interest in the relationship between Newton-John and Dermott.
Personal Life
McDermott was born in Seoul, South Korea on September 18, 1956. He claimed to have believed he was the offspring of an American father and a Korean mother. When he was two years old, he was given up for adoption by his mother and subsequently adopted by an American family.
His adoption records indicated that his birth name was Kim Chong-nam. In 1992, McDermott tied the knot with actress Yvette Nipar; their marriage ended in 1994.
They have a son named Chance McDermott. McDermott filed for bankruptcy in 2000 and faced a court order to settle overdue child support to his ex-wife. He had an intermittent relationship with Olivia Newton-John for approximately 9 years before his disappearance. When Olivia first encountered him, McDermott was at his place of employment.
Rumors About His Whereabouts
The location of Olivia Newton-John’s former partner Patrick Dermott has remained unknown since his disappearance. Some speculate that he may have moved to Mexico, while others believe he might have returned to his native Australia.
Dermott was last seen on a fishing vessel off the Californian coast, and his car was discovered abandoned near the Mexican border. There have been several alleged sightings of him in Mexico, although none have been substantiated. The most probable scenario is that Dermott is no longer alive, but his remains have never been located. Olivia Newton-John has expressed her wish that her former partner is “somewhere happy.”
Is He Alive?
Concerned family members, friends, and private investigators have been actively monitoring the situation.
Hollywood detective John J Nazarian reportedly received information about McDermott being seen in Mexico, with witnesses claiming they saw him accompanied by a German woman. He was enlisted by the US entertainment news show Extra.
An additional supposed sighting of McDermott occurred in South America, as per Philip Klein, another private investigator hired by the US program Dateline.
Klein even penned a book about his quest for the cameraman titled Lost at Sea: The Hunt for Patrick McDermott, which was published in 2012.
McDermott’s ex-wife, Yvette Nipar, urged Amazon to cease the promotion of the book shortly after its release, as Klein was deemed a “repeated liar [who] seeks attention at the cost of our tragic story.”
Nipar is steadfast in her belief that her ex-husband is deceased and requested that bookstores discontinue selling the book out of respect for her grieving family.
In a letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, she stated, “In essence, Mr. Klein has made assurances to us, the family, of providing ‘proof of life’ for years, yet has not provided anything at all.”
“My son has endured enough emotional anguish over this. He has not been able to move forward due to Mr. Klein’s persistent efforts to keep him in the public eye.”
