More questions are emerging about the disappearance of Olivia Newton-John's pal Patrick McDermott from an LA fishing boat in July. Originally, a spokesman for the Freedom said McDermott's food tab was paid onboard shortly before the boat returned to dock. But as Chuck Michel, the attorney now representing the boat's owners, asks, "Who came up and paid it? They aren't checking IDs when you pay a tab." A passenger on the June 30 trip told MSNBC he heard McDermott's name called repeatedly when it was time to settle the bill and later the boat was searched. "They went down to the bunk area and all around the boat," he said. Another passenger, Tony Mayo, told the Torrance Daily Breeze, a local paper, that he went looking for McDermott the second day to thank him for lending him a lure-but couldn't find him. Details about McDermott's troubles have also come to light: He had been ordered to pay child support for his 13-year-old son through a court trustee and, according to neighbors, had been asking them to vouch for his parenting skills in writing. Earlier this year, he dropped out of the gaffer's union, forfeiting medical and life insurance benefits. "We hope that he turns up alive and well," says Michel. "Our hopes and prayers go out to his loved ones."
SUSPECTS BACK IN JAIL
On Aug. 26, two days after Natalee Holloway was to begin her freshman year at the University of Alabama, new arrests were made in her May 30 disappearance. Brothers Satish, 18, and Deepak Kalpoe, 21, have not been charged, but Aruban prosecuters say the pair are being held on suspicion of taking part in premeditated murder and rape. The two were jailed June 9 for suspected involvement in Holloway's disappearance but were released a month later for lack of evidence. The new rape allegation—previously the case focused only on murder—may allow a judge to extend the incarceration of primary suspect Joran van der Sloot, a friend of the brothers'. Because van der Sloot, 18, hasn't been charged, he could have been released on Sept. 4 but could now be held another 30 days. "It can give us more time to search for the real answers for Natalee," says her mother, Beth Twitty, who remains in Aruba.
Courteney Helps
An alum of Holloway's Alabama high school, Cox organized an auction Aug. 25 to help cover the family's legal and travel expenses. The 200 items, including a guitar signed by Sting, raised $110,000.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
