Patrick Kim McDermott (born September 18, 1956) was a Korean American cameraman who disappeared on June 30, 2005, while on an overnight fishing trip off the coast of Los Angeles, California. He was the on-and-off boyfriend of Olivia Newton-John. The United States Coast Guard concluded that he was likely lost at sea. Since his disappearance, unsubstantiated claims have been made, particularly in the Australian media, that McDermott faked his own death and is still alive in Mexico. Personal life McDermott was born in Seoul, South Korea, on September 18, 1956. According to McDermott, he believed he was born to a Korean mother and an American father. He was placed for adoption by his mother and subsequently adopted by an American family when he was two years old. According to his adoption card, his birth name was Kim Chong-nam. McDermott married the actress Yvette Nipar in 1992 and divorced around 1994. They have a son, Chance McDermott. McDermott had filed for bankruptcy in 2000 and had received a court order to pay overdue child support to his former wife. He had been in an on–off relationship with Olivia Newton-John for around 9 years prior to his disappearance. At the time that Olivia met him, McDermott was working as a lighting designer. Disappearance McDermott disappeared from a fishing charter boat off San Pedro, Los Angeles, on June 30, 2005. He was a passenger on the fishing boat Freedom which had left from the San Pedro marina for a 22-hour overnight fishing trip. McDermott was a frequent client of overnight fishing trips. He booked the trip solo, and he did not know any of the other 22 passengers or crew. There was no headcount on the boat when the passengers disembarked. Some of his personal belongings, including his car keys, passport, and wallet, were found on the boat, and his car was found parked near the marina where he had left it. His absence was apparently unnoticed until July 6, 2005, when he failed to attend a family event. He was reported missing on July 11, but the story did not gain widespread press coverage until a month later. A Coast Guard Investigative Service case was closed on September 15, 2006, and "did not find any evidence of criminal action, suicide, accident or hoax in the disappearance of McDermott." A separate United States Coast Guard marine safety investigation, looking into the conduct of