Patrick McDermott
Encyclopedia
Patrick Kim McDermott is a light technician who was a long time boyfriend of Olivia Newton-John
.
by an American
couple.
McDermott had previously filed for bankruptcy
and had received a court order
to pay overdue child support
to his former wife, actress Yvette Nipar. Nipar and McDermott were married on March 1, 1992 when Nipar was four months pregnant. They divorced 15 months later on June 30, 1993.
, on June 30, 2005. The 48-year-old McDermott was a passenger on the fishing boat Freedom which had left from the San Pedro marina for an overnight fishing trip. The 22 passengers and three crew members on board gave contradicting reports of his whereabouts both during and at the conclusion of the trip. His absence was apparently unnoticed until July 6, 2005, when he failed to attend a family event.
A Coast Guard
investigation released in November 2008 concluded that McDermott "most likely" drowned. However, the circumstances of his disappearance have fueled speculation that he faked his own death. The case has been featured on America's Most Wanted
. In a 2009 feature on Dateline NBC
, investigators went undercover to look for him in Mexico
, where they believed he may be in hiding. The investigators claim that he disappeared to avoid debts, including USD
$8,000 owed to his ex-wife for child support
, and created the website FindPatrickMcDermott.com for the sole purpose of trapping Mr. McDermott. As the Dateline special showed, all visitors' web addresses were logged and mapped. The Dateline investigators currently believe Mr. McDermott is living in a boat off the west coast of Mexico and continue to track hits to their website. The Dateline investigators claim that there have been over 20 sightings of McDermott in Mexico and Central America.
In January 2009, investigators reported he is alive and well in Mexico, and asking to be left alone.
In April 2009, lead investigator Philip R. Klein released the following statement:
After years of searching for the missing man, a group of private investigators hired by Dateline NBC were finally able to locate Mr McDermott alive and living in Mexico, according to E! Online.
The private eyes, led by Texas-based investigator Philip Klein, reportedly tracked McDermott down after noticing that a collection of centralized IP address
es were logging onto the Web site that followed his presumed whereabouts.
The addresses led the investigators to the Mexican-Pacific coast near Puerto Vallarta
, where McDermott had been living under his birth name.
After they were able to retrieve "documentation and voice imprints" from him, Klein called an official end to the hunt, saying they had "concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. McDermott is alive."
The owner of the vessel will be seeking return of legal fees upward of $80,000.00 when Mr. McDermott returns to the States.
"Mr. McDermott's wishes, according to his counsel, is not to be 'hounded' any longer by investigators or the media," Klein said at a press conference.
Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John AO, OBE is a singer and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five No. 1 and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles and two No. 1 Billboard 200 solo albums. Eleven of her singles and 14 of her albums have been certified gold by the RIAA...
.
Early life
McDermott is half-Korean, and was adopted from KoreaKorea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
by an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
couple.
McDermott had previously filed for bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
and had received a court order
Court order
A court order is an official proclamation by a judge that defines the legal relationships between the parties to a hearing, a trial, an appeal or other court proceedings. Such ruling requires or authorizes the carrying out of certain steps by one or more parties to a case...
to pay overdue child support
Child support
In family law and public policy, child support is an ongoing, periodic payment made by a parent for the financial benefit of a child following the end of a marriage or other relationship...
to his former wife, actress Yvette Nipar. Nipar and McDermott were married on March 1, 1992 when Nipar was four months pregnant. They divorced 15 months later on June 30, 1993.
Disappearance
He disappeared from a fishing charter boat off San Pedro, CaliforniaSan Pedro, Los Angeles, California
San Pedro is a port district of the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. It was annexed in 1909 and is a major seaport of the area...
, on June 30, 2005. The 48-year-old McDermott was a passenger on the fishing boat Freedom which had left from the San Pedro marina for an overnight fishing trip. The 22 passengers and three crew members on board gave contradicting reports of his whereabouts both during and at the conclusion of the trip. His absence was apparently unnoticed until July 6, 2005, when he failed to attend a family event.
A Coast Guard
Coast guard
A coast guard or coastguard is a national organization responsible for various services at sea. However the term implies widely different responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to being a volunteer organization tasked with...
investigation released in November 2008 concluded that McDermott "most likely" drowned. However, the circumstances of his disappearance have fueled speculation that he faked his own death. The case has been featured on America's Most Wanted
America's Most Wanted
America's Most Wanted is an American television program produced by 20th Television, and was the longest-running program of any kind in the history of the Fox Television Network until it was announced on May 16, 2011 that the series was canceled after twenty-three years, with the final episode...
. In a 2009 feature on Dateline NBC
Dateline NBC
Dateline NBC, or Dateline, is a U.S. weekly television newsmagazine broadcast by NBC. It previously was NBC's flagship news magazine, but now focuses on true crime stories. It airs Friday at 9 p.m. EST and after football season on Sunday at 7 p.m. EST.-History:Dateline is historically notable for...
, investigators went undercover to look for him in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, where they believed he may be in hiding. The investigators claim that he disappeared to avoid debts, including USD
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
$8,000 owed to his ex-wife for child support
Child support
In family law and public policy, child support is an ongoing, periodic payment made by a parent for the financial benefit of a child following the end of a marriage or other relationship...
, and created the website FindPatrickMcDermott.com for the sole purpose of trapping Mr. McDermott. As the Dateline special showed, all visitors' web addresses were logged and mapped. The Dateline investigators currently believe Mr. McDermott is living in a boat off the west coast of Mexico and continue to track hits to their website. The Dateline investigators claim that there have been over 20 sightings of McDermott in Mexico and Central America.
In January 2009, investigators reported he is alive and well in Mexico, and asking to be left alone.
In April 2009, lead investigator Philip R. Klein released the following statement:
"Since the airing of the Dateline NBC story and the media coverage of this story from around the world - we the investigators in the case would like to say "thank you" to all of you from around the world that have helped us track Mr. McDermott down. Our team cannot ever say enough thanks to the people and governments of the United States, Mexico, Brazil and Panama. As well, INTERPOLInterpolInterpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...
and other federal agenciesFederal agencyFederal agency may refer to:*United States federal agencies—see List of United States federal agencies*Federal agency -See also:*Government agency*Statutory corporation*Statutory Agency*Crown corporation*Government-owned corporation...
that has communicated and assisted us in this case.
On February 10, 2009, our firm received a fax from a small city in Mexico near AcapulcoAcapulcoAcapulco is a city, municipality and major sea port in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific coast of Mexico, southwest from Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semi-circular bay and has been a port since the early colonial period of Mexico’s history...
in the State of GuerreroGuerreroGuerrero officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Guerrero is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo....
of the Pacific coastPacific CoastA country's Pacific coast is the part of its coast bordering the Pacific Ocean.-The Americas:Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western border.* Geography of Canada* Geography of Chile* Geography of Colombia...
.
After investigating the letter sent to us by fax - we began to investigate its origin. Since that time we have been in phone contact with a 'representative' of Mr. McDermott. We find this 'representative' credible.
We are currently in negotiations with this 'representative' and will make an announcement when necessary. Please understand that we are using all caution due to the current issues Mexico is facing and the safety of our staff. As well, we ask all of you, including the media to remember there is a young man out there that would like firm and clear answers to why his father went missing. Please keep him in your thoughts.
We will make a formal statement and announcement through our friends at NBC Dateline at the proper time."
After years of searching for the missing man, a group of private investigators hired by Dateline NBC were finally able to locate Mr McDermott alive and living in Mexico, according to E! Online.
The private eyes, led by Texas-based investigator Philip Klein, reportedly tracked McDermott down after noticing that a collection of centralized IP address
IP address
An Internet Protocol address is a numerical label assigned to each device participating in a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. An IP address serves two principal functions: host or network interface identification and location addressing...
es were logging onto the Web site that followed his presumed whereabouts.
The addresses led the investigators to the Mexican-Pacific coast near Puerto Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta is a Mexican balneario resort city situated on the Pacific Ocean's Bahía de Banderas.The 2010 census reported Puerto Vallarta's population as 255,725 making it the sixth-largest city in the state of Jalisco...
, where McDermott had been living under his birth name.
After they were able to retrieve "documentation and voice imprints" from him, Klein called an official end to the hunt, saying they had "concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. McDermott is alive."
The owner of the vessel will be seeking return of legal fees upward of $80,000.00 when Mr. McDermott returns to the States.
"Mr. McDermott's wishes, according to his counsel, is not to be 'hounded' any longer by investigators or the media," Klein said at a press conference.