Olivia Newton-John's Missing Ex Spotted, Report Says

June 6, 2006 — -- A new reported sighting of Olivia Newton-John's longtime boyfriend lends more weight to the possibility that he faked his death and is living in Mexico.

According to Australia's Daily Telegraph newspaper, Patrick McDermott was seen at a $33-a-night Mexican beach shack with a "mystery blond woman."

McDermott was not reported missing until 10 days after his boat returned and he failed to appear at a July 6, 2005, family function.

"I love him very much, and this is very hard to go through," Newton-John told "Good Morning America" in October, in her first televised interview since the disappearance. "He has a young son so we still hold out hope that he will come back."

"It's very much a mystery and speculation has been rife, and I choose not to buy into the speculation," Newton-John said. "This is such a personal thing for me and his family, and we've chosen not to talk about it because it's an ongoing investigation."

Witness Tells Newspaper of Mexico Sighting

Raul Avilez, who works at the Pescadero Surf Camp on the Baja Peninsula, is the fourth witness to confirm Newton-John's boyfriend did not die on a fishing trip last year.

Avilez told the Daily Telegraph that McDermott spent a night in the beach shack with a blond woman and that they left together in a green Volkswagen camper van that McDermott had arrived in.

Avilez said the woman had earlier booked into the camp alone and was there for three days before McDermott showed up.

"She knew the local area," Avilez told the Telegraph. "She was blonde and possibly German. The lady was here for three days by herself and he came after her for a night."

McDermott's hair is darker than it was in the photograph released by the U.S. Coast Guard, which is investigating McDermott's disappearance on the fishing boat Freedom on the night of June 30, 2005.

"But it's the same guy, the same face," Avilez told the Telegraph.

Avilez said he did not speak with McDermott and said he was "very quiet."

The Daily Telegraph on Monday reported McDermott had been seen by several other people on Mexico's Baja Peninsula in the last few months, with the most recent sighting 11 days ago in a bar in Cabo San Lucas in the southern section of the peninsula.

A spokesperson for Newton-John could not be contacted.

McDermott, a lighting technician, disappeared on the fishing boat Freedom and was suspected of falling overboard. His wallet and credit card were later found on the boat.

It was later revealed that when McDermott disappeared he owed thousands of dollars in child support payments to his ex-wife and was facing jail over the debts.