A private eye searching for
Patrick McDermott, Olivia Newton-John's former boyfriend who vanished five years ago, says his hunt is over after he received "conclusive proof" he's alive.
McDermott was 48 when he disappeared from a fishing boat that set off from San Pedro on June 30, 2005. He was believed to have fallen overboard but his body was never recovered, and it wasn't long before it was revealed he had financial troubles and may have faked his death and was hiding out on Mexico's Baja coast.
Texas-based P.I. Philip Klein worked on the case for NBC''s tabloid show Dateline. He said yesterday that he had "concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. McDermott is alive."
He said his team was checking documents and voice recordings of McDermott that he and his lawyer had provided in return for detectives agreeing to leave him alone.
Said Klein: "Mr. McDermott's wishes, according to his counsel, is not to be 'hounded' any longer by investigators or the media."
He alleged that McDermott faked his death to escape mounting debts and to enable his teenage son to benefit from a $100,000 US life insurance policy.
McDermott's disappearance wasn't made pubic for seven weeks, when a reporter linked his name to
Newton-John. The Aussie songbird never reported him missing, despite claims they'd been involved in a nine-year romance. Newton-John later gave conflicting responses for the oversight, and finally said that she'd broken up with McDermott. The Coast Guard kept the case open. In 2008, Newton-John married someone else.
Tabloid Baby was the only news organization to remain on the story since 2005. Our reports kept the story alive, and led to reports of McDermott sightings and Klein's involvement last year.
Klein reported contact with McDermott in 2009, though he has not shown any concrete "proof of life" which he claims to have in possession. We do know he is writing a book about his search.
We'll withhold huzzahs until he produces the live McDermott.
