Actress Olivia Newton-John asked for support and prayers last night as authorities searched for her longtime boyfriend who vanished nearly two months ago off the California coast.
Patrick McDermott (right) was last seen on June 30th, aboard a charter fishing vessel that left that morning from a Los Angeles port on an overnight trip.
Authorities say they do not know if the cameraman (48) was lost at sea or returned to port before he went missing.
"For those of us who know and love him, it has been a truly heartbreaking experience," Ms Newton-John said in a written statement, her first public remarks about his disappearance.
"I have offered my full co-operation to the authorities who are continuing to investigate the circumstances of his disappearance and we are hopeful that eventually we will find some answers.
A spokesman for the US Coast Guard, which is investigating Mr McDermott's disappearance, said he was last seen dining aboard the sport-fishing boat Freedom.
Family members became concerned when he failed to turn up at a gathering about a week later and reported him missing on July 11th, when they found his car still parked at the marina with personal items inside.
"At this point it's a blank canvas," Petty Officer Prentice Danner said. "Did he fall overboard or did he just leave? From the time he got on the boat until the boat returned to port there are any number of things that could have happened."
Published reports have said that Ms Newton-John, who is scheduled to begin a US tour in October, has hired a private investigator to pursue the matter.
Mr McDermott and Ms Newton-John have been together for nine years.