Olivia’s Missing Boyfriend Mystery Grows

(June 6, 2006) — More light is being shed on the mystery of Olivia Newton-John?s missing boyfriend, as one of her fellow Aussies is on the case.

?I love him very much and as you can imagine, it?s a very hard thing to go through,? Olivia told ?Good Morning America? in October 2005.

Her boyfriend of 9 years, Patrick McDermott, disappeared from a sport fishing boat a year ago. It was thought he might have fallen overboard, but in the past couple of weeks, at least three witnesses claim to have seen him on Mexico?s Baja peninsula.

?One of the waiters and me, we see him watching the TV,? bar manager Ismael Quintero claimed in an interview with Australian TV.

Australia?s Channel 7 has dispatched L.A. bureau chief Anna Coren to search for McDermott, and she isn?t alone.

?Olivia is still the darling of Australia, so there?s obviously great interest in this story back home,? Coren said.

If the sightings are real, McDermott may be hiding out in Baja to escape mounting financial problems.

?It?s called a sunny place for shady people,? one man noted.

Records show McDermott had filed for bankruptcy protection and owed his ex-wife thousands in child support.

Adding to the mystery, another eyewitness claims that McDermott spent at least one night at Baja?s Pescadero Surf Camp in a $25-a-night room. McDermott is said to have spent the night in the room with a European blonde in her mid-30s.

?When you see somebody a bit more groomed, he stands out,? Baja businessman Colm Mahon said.

Olivia, meanwhile, isn?t commenting on the alleged sightings. The reports out of Mexico perhaps making the difficult days of the past year even more gut wrenching.

?It?s very hard for me to talk about, as you can imagine,? she said.