On June 30, 2005 48-year-old Patrick McDermott disappeared from a fishing boat, which had left from a marina in San Pedro, California, for an overnight fishing trip. The poor man's absence was apparently unnoticed until July 6 when he failed to show up for a family event. The twenty-two passengers and three crewmembers who had been on board gave inconsistent reports of McDermott’s whereabouts. The only information known was he left a bag onboard the boat.
A Coast Guard investigation, released in November 2008, concluded that McDermott had "most likely" drowned. However, not surprisingly, the circumstances of his disappearance fueled speculation that he faked his own death. He made it onto America's Most Wanted and Dateline NBC. The investigators hired by Dateline believed he may have "disappeared" to Mexico to avoid paying his debts, including eight grand he owed to his ex-wife for child support.
By now, you should be aware of how I feel about faking your death by water. Well, here is another "slick" move to add to the list, DON'T GO TO YOUR OWN FUNERAL! In the digital world this of course, translates into-- DO NOT GO TO THE INTERNET AND SEARCH YOUR OWN NAME! The Investigators hired by Dateline figured McDermott would not be able to resist searching for information about himself, so they created the now defunct website.
www.FindPatrickMcDermott.com
The long and short of it is that one particular IP address from a seaside community in Mexico continuously searched the website. It did not take a brain surgeon to make the assumptions that Patrick McDermott was probably the person visiting the website. In other words, he went to his own funeral. Moron! Note of warning, if you do not want to be, written about in Frank M. Ahearn’s next book do not do go to your own funeral.