Olivia Newton-John’s longtime partner Patrick McDermott disappeared in 2005 during an ill-fated fishing trip.
And fans were reminded of the incident at the 2022 ARIA Awards on Thursday during a tribute to the late physical singer.
During a montage of Olivia’s life and career, Patrick was shown briefly with Olivia’s daughter Chloe Lattanzi at the 2002 ARIAs.
Olivia Newton-John’s longtime partner Patrick McDermott went missing during an ill-fated fishing trip in 2005, but he appeared briefly during a tribute to the late singer at Thursday night’s ARIA Awards. Patrick and Olivia pictured in 2005
In the footage, Patrick and Chloe give Olivia a standing ovation as she is inducted into the Hall of Fame.
The Korean-American cinematographer, 48, who dated the late Australian singer for nine years, was last seen alive in June 2005 when he went on a late-night fishing trip off the coast of Los Angeles with 22 other people.
Interest in the case has grown since Newton-John died of cancer in August, and investigators have now uncovered new evidence that sheds light.
During a montage of Olivia’s life and career, Patrick was shown briefly with Olivia’s daughter Chloe Lattanzi at the 2002 ARIAs. Pictured
Spotify’s crime podcast Casefile Presents: Pseudocide explores the popular theory that McDermott faked his own death.
The six-part series features never-before-seen interviews and delves into the facts and speculation that followed the incident years later.
After McDermott disappeared on June 30, 2005, media reports indicated that he had a significant amount of debt.
He filed for bankruptcy with more than $30,000.
Interest in the case has grown since Newton-John died of cancer in August, and investigators have now uncovered new evidence that sheds light. Pictured in LA in 2001
Private investigator Philip Klein suggested that McDermott’s bankruptcy was an important part of the puzzle.
He also said that McDermott, who was born in Seoul and was adopted by an American family at the age of two, hated the “Hollywood lifestyle” during his relationship with Newton-John and particularly disliked red carpets.
“Hollywood is a place of money, but it’s also a place of very poor people trying to make money,” Klein said. “And he just never made it.”
In another bombshell revelation, Klein claimed McDermott left Newton-John a “heartfelt note” and a bouquet of roses shortly before he disappeared.
The note was shared with Klein while he was investigating McDermott’s disappearance for US news program Dateline.
“The note told her that he always loved her and will always love her,” Klein said. “But they had a lot of problems.”
He added, “Patrick pulled out of the relationship because he didn’t like Hollywood — he didn’t like what he was doing.”
After McDermott disappeared on June 30, 2005, media reports indicated that he had a significant amount of debt. He disappeared at sea during a night fishing trip on the boat “Freedom”.
According to an unproven theory, McDermott is hiding out in Mexico, escaping debt, and living on a yacht off the Sayulita coast
The letter could be interpreted as McDermott’s “last goodbye” to Newton-John and perhaps suggests that he knew something bad was about to happen.
Many questions surround McDermott’s disappearance, with wild theories that he may have faked his own death to start a new life in Mexico to avoid paying taxes.
He disappeared aboard the fishing boat Freedom, and his absence was not noticed until the boat returned to shore. He was then 48 years old.
“I don’t think I’ll ever really make peace with that,” Newton-John admitted to Women’s Weekly magazine in 2009.
“I think there will always be a question mark.”
“He was lost at sea and nobody really knows what happened,” Newton-John told 60 Minutes in 2016
The Grease star began a nine-year on-off romance with McDermott after divorcing her first husband Matt Lattanzi in 1995.
Newton-John was on a promotional tour in Australia when McDermott disappeared.
The crew of his fishing boat had found his car keys, passport and wallet on board the boat, and his car was found parked at the San Pedro Marina in Los Angeles.
But still no one noticed he was missing until he failed to show up at a family event on July 6 and police were finally called on July 11.
Newton-John died August 8 at the age of 73 after a long battle with cancer. Pictured Olivia and her husband John Easterling
By then, however, the trail had gone cold — and investigators found nothing.
Before dating Newton-John, McDermott was married with one son and was court-ordered to pay $8,000 in retrospective child support.
A Coast Guard investigation at the time admitted they “found no evidence of criminal activity, suicide, accident or hoax in McDermott’s disappearance.”
A three-year investigation into the fishing boat “Freedom” found it did not take a people count on the day of the trip, resulting in McDermott’s disappearance going unnoticed.
Both probes concluded that McDermott was likely lost at sea during the night and likely drowned. Since then he has been presumed dead.
WHAT HAPPENED TO OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN’S LOST LOVER?
For nearly two decades, theories have swirled about the fate of Olivia Newton-John’s on-off lover, cinematographer Patrick McDermott, 48.
He disappeared on June 30, 2005 while on a 22-hour overnight fishing trip aboard the boat Freedom from the San Pedro Marina in Los Angeles.
The boat crew found his car keys, wallet and passport on board after all other passengers disembarked the next day, and his car was found parked nearby.
The crew hadn’t kept a staff count so no one noticed he was missing for another week when he failed to show up for a family event, with police being alerted nearly a week later.
Since then, speculation has raged as to what happened to him, and investigators have been unable to find any evidence of a crime, suicide, hoax or accident on the fishing trip.
Officials believe he simply fell overboard and drowned, but conspiracy theorists insist he may have had another boat to meet him offshore.
Others believe he may have placed his belongings on the boat before it slipped off, possibly before it even left port without realizing it.
Private investigators set up a website FindPatrickMcDermott.com to try to trick the missing American into giving himself away and identifying the location of everyone who accessed the site.
Olivia Newton-John stayed in touch with McDermott’s ex-wife Yvette Nipar (pictured)
A surge of internet traffic from the Sayulita region of Mexico’s west coast sparked an unsuccessful hunt for him there.
Others say they saw him on a yacht off the coast of Acapulco, 1,000km south.
An investigator claimed to have found him and spoken to him in 2009, claiming he just wanted to be left alone, but the claim was unfounded.
Another claimed to have categorical evidence he was alive and was close to revealing it – but never did.
Over the years he has been sighted in Mexico and Central America at least 20 times, but many have been proven wrong.
A series of pictures of a couple said to be the distinctive-looking McDermott – who was half-Korean and adopted at the age of two – turned out to be a Canadian couple.
His ex-wife Yvette Nipar, the mother of their son Chance, asked for the speculation to end for her child’s sake.
She asked Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to block the publication of a book by private investigator Philip Klein about her ex’s disappearance.
“My son has been through enough emotional agony because of this,” Nipar wrote, branding Klein a “serial liar.”
“Due to Mr. Klein’s constant efforts to keep him in the public eye, he is not yet in a position to move on. Let him rest in peace.”